Over My Head
by EJ92bb
Summary: MerDer...AU
1. Chapter 1

Over My Head-

_Before it began... _

"Hey, man," Mark said, leaning on the nurses station next to his friend.

"Hey," Derek replied, not even looking up from the chart he was filling in.

"Have you seen the chick that Webber's been taking around? Man, she's hott!" Mark exclaimed, waving his hand and whistling, as if he was measuring some sort of intensity of her 'hotness'.

"That's nice," Derek said, not really paying attention.

"Well? Do you know who she is...what she's here for?" Mark prodded, trying to get information from anyone he could.

"No," Derek said simply, finally closing the chart and handing it to a nurse, his bad mood apparent, "You know, don't you have anything better to do than annoy me? Like..surgeries?" Mark studied his friend for a minute, eying him suspiciously before placing his finger on 'the problem'.

"You need to get laid," he said with a sigh, shaking his head as he took a bite of his pickle. Derek shook his head and laughed a little at Mark's fact, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Busy day," he said with a sigh just as his pager went off, "Gotta go." Derek ran off to answer one of his numerous pages throughout the day, reveling in the knowing that the long, busy day would be over soon. Mark shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of his pickle.

"Bye, man," he called out with his mouthful, walking off to find someone else to bother.

Derek stepped out of the locker room, happy that his shift had ended. He loved his job, of course, it was just so frustrating sometimes. He needed a drink...and he probably did need to get laid. One thing about his best friend and his whoreish lifestyle was that he had an instinctive, sixth-sense about those type of things.

"Derek, I've been looking around for you all day," he heard from behind him. He turned to see a very giddy looking Richard Webber approaching, "I have something to discuss with you."

"Oh? What is it?" Derek asked as he started to walk down the hall again, now in the company of the Chief.

"Well, I have a new fellow I was hoping you'd be willing to let study under you...they're very eager...great doctor. Graduated top of their class, by far the best young doctor I've seen in a while," Richard tried to coax Derek, getting in everything possible that was good before he had to reveal the doctor's identity. He knew that Derek was very discriminant against female surgeons...the reason he would never know...but either way, he was still against women practicing medicine. It was something Richard never could quite figure out.

"Ah...sounds like an excellent doctor. What's his name?" Derek asked, fully willing to take on the individual.

"Oh, um...Dr. Grey...Dr. Meredith Grey," Richard said quickly, "Also, the hospital she did her internship at is..."

"It's a chick?" Derek asked with a smirk, turning and facing Richard, "Chief, you know how I feel about..."

"Derek, try not to be so biased, dammit! Now, don't know what your problem is with female doctors, and frankly, I don't care. I'm not going to let it get in the way of this! She is a great doctor and will be a major asset to this hospital. The only reason she agreed to work here is because of you. She's signed papers, every thing's been talked over, you have no choice in this matter. You're taking her on," Richard said, pointing a finger at Derek.

"Richard, I..." Derek started.

"You are taking her on," Richard repeated sternly. Derek finally sighed, defeated. There was no way he could win this.

"Fine," he said, throwing his hands into the air and walking away. He definitely needed that drink now. 

_Day 1..._

Meredith walked out of the locker room confidently, an extra bounce in her step as she went off to meet the great Derek Shepherd. When she learned that she could study under him, she immediately made the decision that Seattle Grace was the place for her fellowship. She walked directly to the nurses station and asked where Dr. Shepherd was. Following the directions to his office that a nurse had given her, she came across a wooden door with a name plaque on it. 'Dr. Derek Shepherd, MD, Head of Neurology'. She took one last deep breath and pulled up her hand, knocking confidently.

"Here goes," she breathed to herself as she heard a call to come in from the other side. She placed her hand on the handle and turned the brassy knob, pushing the door open effortlessly and entering the room. She spotted, behind a large, simple and sterile looking desk, one of the most, without a doubt, gorgeous men she'd ever seen. Of course, she's seen him in medical magazines, but his picture did him no justice. He thick, dark hair was the kind that you wanted to touch just to make sure it wasn't a dream. She quickly composed herself and walked forward quickly.

"Hi, Dr. Grey," she introduced herself immediately, flashing a nervous smile and holding out her hand as she stepped toward his desk, "You can call me Meredith." Derek looked up from the file he was scribbling in, his blue eyes suddenly shocking her even more than his dreamy hair. She couldn't deny the sudden lust she'd felt for him at that moment. He studied her, almost analytically, before finally standing up and walking to the other side of the desk. His breath was taken away, awestruck by the beautiful woman that had entered the office. Her blond hair was pulled back into a messy bun, but a few strands fell down to frame her face, complimenting the tantalizing eyes that he couldn't decide rather they were blue, green, gray, or some other unknown color. He normally didn't like female surgeons, but he was without a doubt attracted to this one, which almost made him more biased against her. He quickly shook off the feeling, putting on a tough exterior.

"I'm Dr. Shepherd...you can call me Dr. Shepherd," he said, ignoring his hand as he walked past her, "Follow me." Meredith nodded obediently before quickly following her mentor.

"I understand you graduated first in your class," he said, walking briskly down the hallway.

"Yes, sir," Meredith said, practically running to keep up with him.

"That was a fact, Dr. Grey, not a question. You're not required to answer. Now, I understand that you graduated first in your class, but let me explain something to you. The real thing is totally different than walking into a classroom everyday and studying your ass off to get an A. The real thing is much different than watching your superiors do work and taking note. You're no longer a student, an intern, or a resident, you are now a real surgeon, and you're with me, so if you make a mistake, it's my ass, therefore, you better not make a mistake, are we clear?" Derek asked, stopping suddenly as he turned to face her.

"Yes, sir," Meredith said with a nod.

"Good," Derek said, also nodding as he started to walk again, "Listen, Dr. Grey..."

"Oh, Meredith. You can call me Meredith," Meredith said with a kind smile. Derek stopped again, sighing as he looked over at her.

"First of all, you can call yourself Meredith and your friends can call you Meredith, but I am your boss. There is a big difference between boss and friend. To you, you're Meredith. To me, you are and will remain, Dr. Grey. Second, don't interrupt me, it's very rude. And most importantly, don't correct me. Everything I say and do I say and do for a reason, so, please don;t contradict me, I won;t tolerate it. Are we clear, Dr. Grey?" Derek asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, sir," Meredith nodded her standard response.

"Good," Derek said as he started walking again.

"Oh...what were you going to say to me? Did you want me to do something?" Meredith asked eagerly as she started following again.

"I don't remember, it wasn't important anyway. For now, why don't you take some post op notes. Ask the nurses for my charts," Derek ordered.

"Yes, sir," Meredith called as she went to the nurses station. Derek smiled, satisfied with himself as he went in the opposite direction. 

"So...great sex last night?" Mark asked, joining his friend at lunch.

"Yes, actually, but why?" Derek asked, looking up from his patients chart as he chewed a mouthful of salad.

"You seem to be in a better mood today," Mark said with a shrug, taking a bite out of his pastrami sandwich.

"I got a fellow to torture," Derek said with a mischievous grin.

"Ah..I see. Damn. You're lucky. I wish I had a fellow...it'd be so much easier to keep up with my patients if I didn't have to get my own cappuccino...I remember when we had interns...oh the good times," Mark said with a sigh.

"See, there's the difference between us. My fellow is learning something while she is being tortured. Yours would be doing nothing...except getting you coffee...and learning how not to sleep," Derek said, laughing in spite of Mark.

"She? A woman no less," Mark said with a nod and raised eyebrows, "Nice."

"A very hott woman to be exact," Derek said.

"Still a woman," Mark pointed out, "Women don't belong in surgery Derek. Pediatrics, okay, Obstetrics, okay. Surgery, no."

"I know. Why do you think I'm working extra hard to torture her?" Derek asked, with an innocent smile.

"And loving every minute of it," Mark said with a sigh as he leaned back and sipped his drink.

Meredith sighed as she finished up the last of the lab-running, chart-filling, bedpan-changing, puke-cleaning duties for the day. This was not what she signed on for. She had to work ten times as hard as when she was an intern, and she didn't even get the chance to observe a surgery...or interact with a patient. Unless, of course, they were sleeping and she was doing post-op notes, but that didn't count. And Not only was her boss being an ass all day, but her not boss was an ass too. She didn't even care who the hell Mark Sloane was...and she definitely didn't care about plastic surgery, but it seemed she was taking orders from him too. But, she just rolled her eyed at all this, reassuring herself that it would get better soon. She plopped down on the locker room bench, pulling off her shoes and top as she leaned forward and placed her head in her hands, meticulously rubbing her temples away from the massive head ache she was suffering. Day one was off the list...it couldn't get worse. There was no way this would become a daily routine. Finally content with her self assuring train of though, she stood up and opened her locker to get ready to go home.

Derek searched through the halls endlessly, it seemed, searching for that new surgical fellow of his. He needed to give her just a tiny bit more busy work. He knew that the grunt work he had assigned all day hadn't been pleasing...and neither had the grunt work he allowed Mark to assign her...but hey. Everyone had to work for their dollar, right? He let a small chuckle escape his lips as that thought flashed through his mind. The chuckle changed into a sigh as he finished searching the hospital top to bottom. She must have already left...he'd just have to wait until tomorrow to torture her. He grabbed a chart and flipped it open, reading over it as he paraded down the hall, coming to a dead halt as he came to the only place he hadn't searched...a place where she had a good potential of being. Satisfied with his genius, Derek looked back down at the chart and opened the door to the locked room, making his way inside. He looked up, doing a double take as he saw her standing in scrub bottoms and a bra. HE quickly tried to compose himself and hide his shock, and faint desire, as he looked back down at his chart.

"Dr. Grey," he said, keeping his eyes down, "You're on call tonight." And with that, he quickly turned and left the room.

_Day 2..._

"Ahem," Meredith had the pleasure of waking up to someone clearing their throat.

Her eyes popped open and she realized she was at the nurses station, her patient's chart acting as her pillow. She must've fallen asleep. She jumped up quickly, afraid of what her reprimand might be, coming face to face with a short, African-American woman. She slowly let out a relieved breath, slumping her shoulders a little as she realized it wasn't her boss.

"Who are you?" the woman quickly asked, her face scrunched up an a confused, intimidating expression.

"Oh, I'm, um...Dr. Grey...but, uh..." Meredith quickly started to explain, realizing that this woman was every bit as harsh as her boss.

"You an intern?" the woman asked, interrupting quickly.

"Oh, no," Meredith said with a sigh-laugh, "I'm actually a surgical fellow. I'm studying under Dr. Shepherd, and..."

"Dr. Shepherd? I see...no wonder you were asleep. Lemme guess, the sexist ass has been unusually and critically tough on you, hasn't he?" the woman asked, a look of understanding, and something that looked a little like revenge, crossing her face.

"Um...yeah," Meredith said, a little shocked at her words, "I'm sorry, did you say 'sexist ass'?"

"Indeed I did, Dr. Grey," the woman said, flashing her a smile and wink before walking off.

"I see," Meredith said, a certain vengeance in her voice.

"Grey, you're running labs for me," Mark said, coming up to Meredith and handing her some files.

"I'm not your subordinate, Dr. Sloane," Meredith said, handing him back his files as she went to find a real patient, determined to prove Dr. Shepherd wrong in his findings about women.

Derek studied Mark who stood with a particular scoff on his face. 

"What's wrong with you today?" he asked, taking a sip of his espresso. 

"Do you know what your intern just said?" Mark asked.

"She's not an intern," Derek corrected.

"Okay, well, intern, nurse, whatever...all the same...that's not the point. The point is what she said to me," Mark said, getting a blank stare in return, "Don;t you want to know what she said to me?"

"Why not?" Derek shrugged, opening a chart.

"She said that she wasn't my subordinate," Mark said, making quote marks with his fingers.

"She isn't," Derek pointed out.

"But still," Mark said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I'll see what I can do, Mark, but technically, she's right, and as much as I..." Derek started.

"Find a new female surgeon to gang up on I suppose," Dr. Bailey said, stepping out in front of them, they both looked down at her in a small amount of shock. Bailey had given them a run for their money back when she was an intern and they were residents. She complained about them showing 'no respect for her...or any woman for that matter'. She was right, of course, but this fact, they chose to ignore.

"Dr. Bailey," Mark said, smirking down at his old dependent, "Where are you working now?" 

"Here, you blind fool," Bailey answered with a glare, "As a surgeon, in this hospital. And as a surgeon in this hospital, I'd like to point out that..."

"We understand," Mark said with a nod as he and Derek continued on walking. Bailey rolled her eyes and sighed as she just walked the other way. She'd always swore that whenever she was talking to them she was facing the devil's advocates.

"Wait, what the hell is she doing?" Derek asked, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw her examining a patient through the window of their room.

"What the hell is who...oh," Mark said, turning to see what Derek was looking at. Derek looked over at him quickly before hurrying into the room.

"Dr. Grey!" he said, glaring at her.

"Yes, Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith asked, writing in the chart.

"Come here, right now. We need to talk," he said, pointing to the floor. Meredith sighed, rolling her eyes a little.

"I'll be right back," she assured her patient before stepping into the hall with Derek.

"Dr. Grey, I thought I made it perfectly clear that these are my patients..." Derek started.

"Because the only ones that are mine are those with explosive diarrhea, is that right?" Meredith blurted, not being able to contain herself. Derek looked at her, almost shocked at her outburst.

"Damn right," he said, letting go of his calmness as well, "As of now, that is correct, and if you keep disobeying me and my orders, that will be the case until the end of your fellowship here. You are you listen to me, Dr. Grey, if you can't do that, then we have a major problem. You're doing rectals today, go!" Meredith glared at him, sighing a little as she turned and walked off.

"It's a control thing," she mumbled to herself as she went to perform rectal exams for the rest of her day.

Meredith was completely nauseated. Rectal exams, and vomit clean-ups were not exactly appetizing, and most certainly not neuro. Her boss was an ass, it was as simple as that. There seemed to be a pattern so far, but she was determined to not have many more days like this. She was going to prove him wrong...she just had to decide how to do that without having any patients. Finally, the steel doors peeled open and the familiar ding sounded at the elevator. Families of patients, and a few doctors, filed out of the elevator and Meredith stepped on, hitting the ground floor button.

Cristina sat on her floor, eating left-over Chinese food and watching a good surgery documentary on T.V. When her phone as she reached over and pulled it off the hook.  
"Hello," she growled into it, thoroughly annoyed. The only people who ever called her were telemarketers, and tonight was so not the night for some annoying idiot to be calling her.

"Derek Shepherd is a jackass, don't believe the magazines," Meredith sighed into the phone.

"Meredith?! Well, long time no see," Cristina said, surprised that her best friend was calling. She hadn't talked to Meredith since a week ago when she moved to Seattle...leaving her all alone in her apartment, something she still liked to bear a grudge for. Without Meredith, there was no one around to keep the apartment tidy.

"I know...sorry. I've just been busy this last week. Unpacking, doing rectals. Did I mention that my boss is a jackass?" Meredith complained.

"Oh please, don;t even complain to me. You've obviously never met Preston Burke," Cristina said, making a snooty face and saying her boss's name in an almost sarcastic tone.

"Well, does Preston Burke assign you to cleaning up puke and running labs for no reason other than the fact that you're a woman?" Meredith asked, almost challengingly, "Shepherd would."

"Why would he do that? I'm an excellent doctor," Cristina said, a little offended.

"Because he's a jackass," Meredith answered with a sigh.

_Day 3..._

"Dr. Grey, I need you to run these labs," Derek said, handing Meredith a heavy stack of files. Meredith rolled her eyes, she couldn't take much more of this. It was four in the morning (the time that he told her she had to come in) and she hadn't had coffee, and he was handing her a stack of four-hundred-pound paper work. She reached a breaking point, and finally decided that she would give him a piece of her mind.

"It's because I'm a woman, isn't it?" she blurted out.

"What?" Derek asked, turning to face her, feigning confusion.

"You, with the work. It's because I'm a woman...you have some kind of biased, discriminant, sexist conspiracy theory about women surgeons. That's why you're always such a jerk to me, and why you give me so much meaningless work," Meredith said, facing him confidently.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Grey. I give the same workload to everyone, this has nothing to do with gender, but if it's too much for you to handle, maybe..." Derek started.

"No, I get it. You're an ass to everyone. You just put in an extra effort when it comes to females. Well, let me explain a few things to you, Dr. Shepherd. One, it was my brain that got me here, not my boobs. Contrary to your belief, I have a mind, and I put it to good use, unlike you. Second, I don't back down to intimidating tactics, so whatever you have, bring it on. And most importantly, I am a real surgeon. I have been putting up with your macho, petulant crap for three days, and I'm sick of it. I'm not your lab rat, so, when you have something real for me to do, have me paged," Meredith said, placing his files back in his hands and storming off with a satisfied smile on her face. Maybe she gave him a little more than a piece, but it was well worth it. And she didn't even care about the reprimand that was sure to come, she was just glad he knew where she stood...and maybe if she was lucky she knocked him down a few notches. Her only regret at that very moment was that Cristina wasn't there to see her kick ass.

"Well, looks like she told you," Bailey said with a defiant and content stare at Derek, having seen the whole thing. Derek stood, still in a certain amount of shock from what had just happened. Suddenly, shock left him as his mind wrapped around it, and he couldn't decide rather he wanted to praise her or punish her. He quickly decided punishment was the best route as his and Mark's philosophy rushed back into his head, and off he stormed to track down his subordinate.

"Well, don't you look like a fiery little ball of rage," Mark said with a kind smile, walking up to Meredith as she stood at the nurses station. He'd realized, after the minor argument he'd had with her the day before, that she was not in fact his lab rat. And he therefore, set aside his sexist ways, had no reason to hate her. So why not give her a chance? It'd hit him that she had potential to be the next Mark-Sloane-sex-toy. He'd just need to work the charm a little. Meredith looked up from the chart she was writing in, staring at him incredulously.

"What's the matter, Dr. Grey?" he asked, playing his best look of concern as he stepped forward, placing a 'comforting' hand on her arm. Meredith raised her eyebrows, her skeptical look turning to one of pure shock.

"When did you drop your macho pig ways and decide to be nice to me?" she asked, pulling away from his grasp as she went back to her chart.

"I don't know what you're talking about, doctor," Mark said softly, changing his position from beside her to behind her. Meredith rolled her eyes at him, refusing to look up.

"Oh, I brought you coffee," he whispered in her ear, sliding the coffee in front of her. Meredith finally turned around, her face showing her thoughts, "It's just coffee." He smirked at her as he stepped back and went to his previous place, noticing the slight glare she was giving him, warning him to back off.

"What's the deal here, Dr. Sloane? Are you not Shepherd's accomplice anymore? Have I missed something?" Meredith asked, confused as she took the coffee and sipped it. It didn't really matter that she hated him, coffee is coffee, right?

"I think you're missing the point here, Dr. Grey. See, what I'm getting at..." Mark started, interrupted by a booming voice. 

"Dr. Grey," Derek said, stepping up to her, completely disregarding Mark. A small smile appeared on Meredith's lips before she wiped it off and turned to face him, this not going unnoticed by Mark.

"Yes, Dr. Shepherd?" she asked innocently.

Why did he always win? Well..he was her boss...and the most respected Neurological Surgeon in America...that might have been it, but still, it wasn't fair. Why did he always have to win? She couldn't change the fact that she was standing there, changing bed-pans, because when Meredith showed defiance, shepherd went so far as to get Richard involved. And of course, Richard backed him up...because they're men. And men stick together. And they were all sexist, idiot, ass holes. Meredith rolled her eyes as she walked out of the patient's room and saw Derek at the nurses station filling out a chart, for a patient, who's surgery she would not be in on. She sighed and shook her head as she dreadfully started trudging down the hall. She would do whatever it took to prove herself, but there was no way in hell she was going to back down to him. She had to show him what she was made of...she just had to figure out her next course of action. After all, she was already changing bed-pans...it's not like she could get reprimanded even more. She looked back over her shoulder at him one last time before she continued her journey down the hall, making quick eye contact with him before she turned back. It was too bad he was such a jerk...he had great hair, and a nice smile. Oh, and gorgeous eyes...and a really nice ass. If he wasn't so mean to her, she probably would have found him hott. Who was she kidding? She did find him hott. But that wasn't the point...the point was he was a sexist jerk, and he was her boss, and she hated him.

Why was she like this? Why did she have to be like this? He tried to convince himself these were questions that he was repeating in his head because he hated her, and found what she was doing to be extremely annoying..but inside, he knew why he was asking himself these questions...shy he was distracted at the moment from the work that he was usually so focused on. It wasn't because he hated her...it was because he didn't. Why did she have to make it so damn hard to just hate her? He tried to regain focus as he looked down at the chart he was writing in, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over, only to catch site of Meredith leaving a patient's room. He felt a load of guilt drop on himself. He hated punishing her...he'd punished plenty of people before...especially the women...and he'd never ever felt bad about it. But for some reason, he just couldn't shake the feeling of that small droop in the pit of his stomach when he saw her. It never really occurred to him that this might have been more than guilt, but he didn't dare cross the line to think of her as anything more than the woman that he was going to be ordering around for a while. He looked back with a sigh, making brief eye contact with her unknown color eyes, quickly diverting his gaze. If she wasn't someone that he "despised" at the current moment, he probably would have found her beautiful eyes and golden hair that seemed to look so perfect with the body that he so desperately (yet, denyingly) desired to hold sexy. Who was he kidding? He did find her sexy. But that wasn't the point...the point was, he was a sexist jerk, who wouldn't let go of his philosophy no matter how desperately she tried to prove him wrong, and he hated her.

"I need a drink, a massage, and a man...or a drunken massage by a man," Meredith muttered to herself the saying that her friend always used when hinting toward Meredith to come to the bar with her. She laughed a little in spite of herself as she slammed her locker. She missed Cristina. She wished she would consider transferring to study under Erica Haun, or that Preston Burke would transfer, forcing Cristina to follow...or that she had the nerve to drop out of Shepherd's 'program' and head back to New York to study under a second hand doctor. Unfortunately for her, none of this seemed to be happening. When she'd first come to the hospital, Meredith had caught glimpse of the shining neon lights for the bar across the street. Surprisingly, she hadn't gone it yet. Strange seeing as tequila and one-night stands were Meredith's trade-mark. She finished her way out of the hospital she'd memorized the steps through, losing her train of thought as she approached the doors. 

"What the hell," she mumbled with a shrug as studied the bar across the street, some unbalanced force pushing her to go to it. 

"Hey, man, wanna go for drinks?" Mark asked as Derek stepped out of the locker room.

"Don't you have a date with...Cinda tonight?" Derek asked, looking at Mark curiously. Mark had made sure that everyone knew about his date with 'Cinda', who had fake boobs and ...well, that was really it. But they were nice fake boobs, according to Mark.

"Ah, I did, but I canceled," Mark said, waving his hand.

"Why?" Derek asked, shocked. With all the rambling Ark had been doing, he wondered why he would have canceled the 'opportunity of a lifetime'.

"She had kids...don't do the crime, don't do the time, know what I'm saying? Anyway, I was thinking about going over to Joe's and getting some scotch...throwing some darts. Just the usual. You in?" Mark asked, hoping his friend would join him.

"Why not," Derek said with a shrug and a sigh. All he wanted to do was go home, but some unbalanced force was pushing him to go with Mark, for some reason. 

"You new in town?" the bar0tender asked, twirling a drink glass and drying it with a towel in his hands.

"Kinda...sort of...not really...but yes. It's complicated," Meredith said with a sigh. The bartender shrugged, not really following her exactly, but letting it drop.

"Well, kinda sort of new to towners get drinks on the house. This one's on me," the bartender said with a kind smile as he pushed Meredith's third tequila shot in front of her, "But just so you know, you'll be sorry in the morning." The bar tender winked at her as he leaned in and whispered to her.

"I'm always sorry in the morning," Meredith whispered back with a smirk, eliciting a laugh from the bar tender as he shook his head and went to tend to someone else.  
Meredith tossed back her shot, lining it up with the other empty glasses, deciding that that would be her last for the night. Unless, of course, she planned on taking home any inappropriate men...and she didn't plan on taking home any inappropriate men. She sighed as she leaned back a little on the bar stool. A good few minutes later, the bar tender made his way back over, asking her if she wanted another which she said no to. The bar tender nodding and turning to walk off, before stopping, looking as though he were contemplating saying something, when suddenly he stepped back toward her.

"You know, Dr. Hot and Angry has been staring at you all night," he said with a grin, finally completing the action of walking away. Meredith smiled a little as she turned her head nonchalantly to look at the man the bar tender was referring to. As she caught sight of Derek, she quickly turned her head back around, letting a few swear words escape under her breath.

"You know, on second though, another drink sounds good," she said to the bar tender as he came back around.

_Day 4..._

"I hate him...hate hate. You know, like, I'd push him down the stairs if I had the opportunity, kind of hate," Meredith ranted to herself, not aware of anyone listening as she looked over lab results, "I mean, seriously." Normally, she would have been talking to Cristina. But Cristina wasn't there, so she was left with no option other than to talk to herself. She sighed as she stood up from the chair behind the nurses station and started down the hall to give Dr. Shepherd the lab results, ignoring all of the people staring at her antics. She made her way down the hall, sauntering slowly as she dreaded what would come next. Bedpans, check. Labs, check. Now it was vomit clean up. She really hated him. Hate hate. She rounded the corner and looked up from the stack of files she was holding to see a person she definitely did not expect to be standing at the nearby nurses station, near the chief's office.

"Cristina!" she exclaimed, running toward her best friend.

Cristina paced nervously outside of Dr. Richard Webber's office. When Dr. Burke had decided to transfer to Seattle Grace, he promised that he'd do everything in his power to get the Chief to make a spot for Cristina, but it wasn't a guarantee. Burke, of course, was a shoe in, but Cristina was worried that she'd be left to study under someone second best. Suddenly, a familiar voice shrieked out her name and Cristina turned to see Meredith running toward her. The time was so nerve-racking that Cristina had completely forgotten about her plans to find her best friend the second she got in.  
"Not now, Meredith," Cristina said on instinct, as if they were back in where they used to work. She quickly realized that she hadn't seen Meredith in about two weeks, and she desperately needed her friend at that moment. "Wait, Meredith?! Oh, my God, Mer! Baby, you're here!" Cristina yelped as she ran over to her friend, stopping herself as she almost hugged her. She couldn't believe she almost made that mistake. She never hugged anyone, not even when she was drunk.

"Yeah, we don't hug," Meredith said, clearing her throat as she tried to gain her composure back.

"Right, I know," Cristina nodded, doing the same as Meredith.

"So, what are you doing here?" Meredith asked casually as she and Cristina started walking back to where Cristina had previously been standing.

"I'm looking for a job..." Cristina started.

"What!? I thought you wouldn't consider leaving Dr. Burke!" Meredith exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Would you just let me finish? Damn, you're already annoying me...and you're supposed to be one of the few people who don't," Cristina said, shaking her head.

"Right, sorry," Meredith said, leaning back on the station.

"Burke transferred here, so...I'm trying to get in, too," Cristina said with a sigh.

"Oh, well, that's..." Meredith started, a smile illuminating her features at the excitement of Cristina's arrival. She suddenly stopped though, as the door behind Cristina opened and Derek walked out. Her smile dropped and she cleared her throat as she turned around and faced the same direction as Cristina.

Derek froze as he walked out of the door and saw Meredith standing, talking with someone who's face he couldn't see. Keeping up the charade of their hostility toward each other, he greeted her coldly, an eerie hatred sense filling the air.

"Dr. Grey," he said, as he walked up to the station and fill charts.

"Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said in return, the same coolness in her voice.

"Aren't you supposed to be running labs?" Derek asked, standing back up and facing her.

"Already ran," Meredith said, pushing the results forward. Derek nodded and picked them up.

"Well, do something productive with your time. I think Dr. Sloane has some patients who need dressings changed, why don't you get on that," Derek said, walking past her. Meredith rolled her eyes and sighed, all happiness deflating.

"And he's one of the many people who do annoy me...let me guess. That's the jackass," Cristina said knowingly as she hopped up and sat on the nursing desk, "A hot ass, though, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah," Meredith said under her breath as she started to walk away, "Why don't you meet me here after my shift ends at seven? We'll go out or something!" Meredith called out to her friend as she started off.

"Sure," Cristina called back, "We'll devise Shepherd's fate!" Meredith giggled and shook her head before she turned and started jogging away to find Mark.

"You ordered Meredith to do dressings for me?" Mark asked with squinted eyes as he approached Derek.

"Yes," Derek answered, "and since when do you call her Meredith?" He looked at Mark with the same squinted eyes.

"Dude, you're never going to get into her pants if you keep up with this crap," Mark said, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"It's a good thing I don't want to get into her pants then." Derek said.

"Oh, please," Mark retorted quickly, "Don't deny it, you want her more than I want a donut right now. And I really want a donut right now."

"That was...an extremely bad simile, Marcus," Derek said, rolling his eyes as he went back to his chart.

"Maybe so, but the point is, you want her, she wants you, and it's clear to everyone except for you two, and how many times do I have to tell you not to call Marcus, even on rare occasion," Mark said pointedly. Derek smiled at him, chuckling lightly.

"If you insist," he said dismissively. Mark glared at him a little.

"Yeah, good luck with the whole Meredith thing," he said, walking off. Derek sighed and rolled his eyes, before following his friend and insisting there was no feelings other than hatred between Meredith and him.

She stepped into the bar hours later after her long day was over. These days seemed to become a series. What started as one unfortunate, awful, terrible day, turned into four. She could barely take it. For now though, the only solution she could think of was to suck it up. She scanned the bar quickly with her eyes as the suddenly landed on the head of wild black hair at the bar. She sighed as she walked over and sat next to her friend, grabbing a handful of bar nuts right away.

"Hey," she said with a sigh, exhaustion obvious in her voice.

"Hey," Cristina said back.

"So, what's up?" Meredith asked, grabbing the tequila that the bartender, seemingly having a photogenic memory, had set in front of her.

"I met a doctor named Sloane today. The guy's a real ass, you know that. A genuine cheese ball. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I may have hit him on the head with an object nearby...hey would you visit me if I got put away for intentionally inflicting pain with castration?" Cristina asked.

"Cristina, you can't castrated someone just because they seem like an ass," Meredith said with a slight giggle.

"You're right," Cristina said, "We should hire somebody." Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend's ideas...remembering actually having the same thoughts herself.

"If you want to see a real ass, you have to meet Shepherd. You haven't even seen the half of it yet," Meredith said with a sigh.

"Well, I'd probably want to do something wonderful and awful and painful to him too, but I can't hurt the man my best friend loves, sorry," Cristina said with a smirk. Meredith turned to Cristina, shocked at her words. Her mouth hung slightly open as she looked at her.

"What?! I can't believe you just said that! I hate him...nothing like love. I hate him so much that I would run him over in the parking lot with my car! He's the kind of person that you consider stabbing with a pencil just to see if he actually has blood, not the kind of person you love. I do not love him, and for you to even..." Meredith started.

"Hey, Cristina knows these things. Cristina knows everything. It's obvious for anyone to see that you want him. The sexual tension is thick enough to cut with a knife babe. There's enough sparks between you two to start a fire. There's no denying it now. So just accept the fact that Cristina knows everything a move on," Cristina interrupted with a shrug. Meredith glared at her and through a bar nut at her head.

"I hate you!" she exclaimed, looking back down into the half-full shot glass. Cristina smirked, satisfied with herself.

"That's okay. I hate you too," Cristina said, picking up her beer and taking a big gulp out of it.

Derek lied in bed, thinking. It was impossible to get sleep as Mark's words stuck in his head. They replayed over and over again. If people could just see that they hated each other...okay. That was impossible. She may have hated him, but it was impossible to hate her. And he couldn't keep up the facade of it much longer. As much as he tried to maintain his discriminant mentality, he couldn't drop the feelings that rushed through his veins every time he saw her. But how could Mark know? He didn't think Mark was the perceptive. And what if Mark was right? If he kept this up for much longer, he would probably never get a chance to be more than just a sexist asshole to her. But he couldn't just back down from all he stood for, lose his integrity just because of some natural feelings for one female surgeon. He couldn't drop it. This was the way it had to be...right? 

_Day 5..._

Meredith stood outside the chief's door nervously waiting for her friend. Finally, the door swung open and Cristina stepped out with Dr. Burke behind her.

"So?" Meredith asked, looking from the opposite side of the hall at her friend, "Did you get a permanent position?" Cristina opened her mouth to speak, hopefully giving the results they were both hoping for when she was interrupted by a booming voice at the end of the hall.

"Grey! Labs are in my office, get moving!" Derek called. Meredith sighed, rolling her eyes.

"We'll talk about it later," she said before jogging off.

Derek walked around, expecting to have a hay day looking for his most defiant subordinate ever, shocked as he found her almost right away down the hall from his office, seemingly talking to someone he didn't know. He called for her to run labs then hurried off, trying to concentrate on what assignment he was going to give her next when Mark's voice popped back into his head.

'Dude, you're never going to get into her pants if you keep this crap up...'

It wasn't that he wanted to 'get in her pants', but he definitely couldn't keep this up. Mark was right. You could only be an asshole for so long. He sighed before regretfully turning around and walking back to his office where she was sure to be.

"Dr. Grey," he said as he stepped in, seeing her looking for the labs. Meredith rolled her eyes as she turned around, making sure he saw her insubordinating antics.

"Yes, Dr. Shepherd?" she asked, a mix of obedience and annoyance ringing in her tone.

"Why don't you forgot about the labs today? Dr. Bailey has an appendectomy in OR 2, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you scrubbing in," Derek said hesitantly, almost regretting the words as they flew from his mouth. This wasn't like him. His sudden change in behavior was definitely questionable. And he hated the fact that he was doing this just because of what Mark said. The words were hard to get out, giving her any kind of privilege. But he managed to let them escape.

"Seriously?" she asked, shocked as she stood frozen in place. What was with the sudden change?

"Don't make me change my mind, Grey," Derek said sternly.

"Right, yeah, I'm going," Meredith said as she rushed past him, hoping not to blow what might be her only chance.

"Dr. Bailey?" Meredith said questioningly, walking into the scrub room.

"Ah, Dr. Grey, good to see you again," Bailey said, looking up and giving Meredith a genuine smile. That wasn't something she did often, definitely not to many people. But, she'd taken an instant liking to Meredith. She felt for the girl. She had once been Mark's intern, she knew what dumb and dumber were like.

"Dr. Shepherd said I might be able to scrub in on the appendectomy...if you don;t mind?" Meredith said timidly.

"Scrub in? On an appy?" Bailey looked shocked as she stepped back and pulled off her mask, "Oh, hell no. You are a Neurological fellow, you should be doing your own operations, minor neuro operations. You shouldn't be watching!"

"Watching is better than cleaning vomit," Meredith said with a shrug. "So, can I scrub in?"

"_You_, can perform the operation," Bailey said with raised eyebrows, "Hell, I had interns performing this operation. You know, just, go in there, get it started. I'm going to have a word with Dr. Shepherd, excuse me." And with that, Miranda Bailey stormed out of the room, ready to kick some sexist ass.

Derek consulted on patient's, checked up on post-ops, but felt himself mildly distracted from the few patients he did see. He couldn't understand why it was so different for him..why he felt so compelled, so obligated to stop being his usual self. He was having conflicting feelings. Should he stick to his stance and remain biased against her because of her gender? Or, should he just give in to that twinge of doubt, that slight feeling, that she was different than all of the other women he'd trained? Should he give in to his actual feelings? The truth was, he'd already started. He knew that she was a fellow and he was giving her a lot less opportunity than he was, that she should be performing her own surgeries. But, he also knew that when he told her to scrub in on the appendectomy that he was giving her more freedom than any other female surgeon he had previously trained. He was already giving in, that was the fact. He sighed as he walked up to the gallery and took a seat. He knew his decision to be an ass was already made, but it just didn't seem...right.

Bailey searched the halls for Derek, banged on his office door, looked everywhere, and finally decided that if she couldn't ream into him, she'd find Mark. She walked up to his office with the confident Bailey swing in her hips and opened the doors without knocking.

"Dr. Sloane, may I have a word?" she asked, sending him an evil dagger.

"Endocrinology," Mark said with a shrug, amused at his 'clever' self, not even bothering to look up from his notes to the angry face before him.

"I'm serious, Sloane," Bailey said.

"Fine, what do you want?" Mark asked impatiently, looking up and pulling off his glasses, and for the first time becoming slightly intimidated by Dr. Bailey.

"Scalpel," Meredith said with a sigh, holding her hand out to receive the surgical instrument. She took a second to hold it, reveling in the feeling of being back in the OR. It seemed like forever ago that she'd last performed an operation. Finally, with a sigh, she started to cut. "I'm in the _peritoneal. Hemostat." Meredith handed the scalpel back to the nurse and waited for her to replace the instrument. She glanced quickly back into the gallery, force of habit or something from when she was an intern. Nervous, on-edge, some kind of jittery emotion caused her to do it. She guessed it was a psychological thing. But what she saw made her do a double take. Dr. Shepherd sat in the gallery, the only person there, looking down at her. He nodded once at her and smiled slightly as she looked back and studied her._

_"Hey!" the scrub nurse exclaimed, trying to get her attention as she held out the instrument. Meredith turned back quickly and grabbed them._

_"Sorry, thanks," she said as she went back to the quick and minor operation. _

_Cristina got sick of waiting for Meredith. She had things to do. She had to arrange to move to Seattle, she had to sign contracts, and most importantly, she had to get drunk in celebration. But, to occupy her time, she had to find another top priority, because even though she was sick of waiting for Meredith, she had to wait anyway. She needed someone to get drunk with. Celebrating on your own makes you look like a looser, she thought. As soon as Meredith finished with the labs, she was going to smuggle her out of the hospital without a care from Dr. Shepherd and give her lots and lots of tequila. That was the plan she had been building in her mind for the last ten minutes. There was no way labs could take that long. Seriously, how much work could he have possibly given her? With a sigh, Cristina decided to watch a surgery. She started down the OR hall and chose an operating room gallery at random. _

_Meredith felt a nervousness rowel within her at the notice of Dr. Shepherd, she could feel a dread run through her stomach. She remembered the first time she'd performed an appendectomy as an intern. She remembered tearing the purse strings...she remembered the patient almost dying from a simple appendectomy. Luckily for her, the attending saved him. She was on that step now. Where you invert the stump into the cecum and pull up on the purse strings. She couldn't just stop in the middle of the operation. With a sigh, she closed her eyes tightly, then reopened them as she hesitantly started the last step of the surgery. _

_Derek looked over as he heard someone sigh when they plopped down in a chair a few over from his. He recognized her as the girl that had been talking to Meredith. He nodded in greeting before turning back to watch Meredith put the finishing touches on the surgery. He heard a grunt slash laugh slash sigh slash moan, a strange concoction of sounds that he'd never really heard before, come from the girl beside him. _

_"Ironic...really," she said, "The first time she did an appendectomy, she almost killed the dude...that was the last time she did one, and now here she is, all alone, doing another. And you're watching her. She must be nervous as hell." She stood up and walked to the glass, placing her hand on the wall and leaning toward the transparent material as she watched her friend intently._

_"What?" Derek asked, confused. He didn't even know this girl, and what she was saying confused him slightly. How do you almost kill someone with an appendectomy?_

_"Well, Meredith is afraid to blink the wrong way in front of you, let alone do something like this. And here she is...doing something like...this," Cristina said with a shrug._

_"Why is she afraid?" Derek asked, a concerned/confused taking over his expression._

_"Um...because you're an asshole. And a sexist jerk, and she hates you," Cristina said in a sarcastic tone. "What did you expect?" Derek sighed. The look on his face immediately disappearing. He had had no intentions of ever going soft with a pupil. It seemed he was slipping a little. _

_"She's my subordinate. I'm just doing my job," he said flatly._

_"Oh really? When did your job become more about being a jackass than being a teacher and saving lives?" the girl asked in a slightly raised tone as she turned to face Derek and crossed her arms. _

_"Excuse me, but..." Derek started._

_"No, you know what? Don't even bother. You're an ass...that's all there is to it," the girl said angrily before storming out of the gallery. Derek was slightly shocked, taken aback. He had never met the woman before, he didn't even know her name, and she just screamed at him then left. What the hell?_

_Meredith finished suturing the patient with a satisfied grin. She was a good surgeon. She had had no reason to be nervous. In fact, she had every right to hate Derek. She shouldn't be scared about that. She scrubbed out and left the OR to find Cristina leaning on the wall across from the scrub room. _

_"Hey," Meredith said with a smile._

_"Hi," Cristina said with a nod, "Listen, I may have gotten you into a bit of trouble." Cristina held out her fingers a small distance apart as if to measure the amount o trouble._

_"What did you do?" Meredith asked, her smile immediately fading._

_"I put Shepherd in his place," Cristina said with a shrug. "I'm going to find a banana." She sighed and smiled at Meredith before walking off quickly._

_"Cristina!" Meredith called out angrily to her friend who had quickly escaped into the stairwell. "Dammit." She turned and jumped a little as she saw Dr. Shepherd standing behind her. _

_"Dr. Grey," he said._

_"Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said with a nod before starting to walk around him. Derek grabbed her arm and pulled her back, sighing a little._

_"Doctor, would you please get on those labs now? Oh, post-ops, too. The notes are on my desk with the labs," he said, his previous condescending tone finding its way back into his voice. _

_"Right, sure," Meredith said, slightly disappointed. She nodded and started to walk off again._

_"Dr. Grey," Derek called. Meredith turned around hesitantly._

_"Good job...in there," Derek said, nodding toward the OR before turning and walking away. Meredith smiled a little._

_"Yeah, thanks..." she said softly, inaudible to him. She turned and made her way back to his office, labs and post-ops suddenly seeming to not be such a damper. _

___Day 6..._

_Meredith woke up and went downstairs with a blanket wrapped tightly around her tiny, fragile frame, to find Cristina asleep on the floor, apparently having fallen off of the couch._

_"Get up," Meredith said with a yawn, kicking Cristina, causing her to sit up quickly and hit her head on the coffee table._

_"Ow," Cristina said, grabbing her head and standing up, "that was very nice of you, thank you," she moaned sarcastically, following Meredith into the kitchen._

_"No problem," Meredith said with a grin, starting the coffee. _

_"So, how much trouble did I get you into with McDreamy?" Cristina asked as she started looked through the cupboards._

_"McDreamy?" Meredith questioned._

_"Yeah..McDreamy..you know? Shepherd?" Cristina said._

_"Hardly. He is anything but McDreamy. McAppaulsive...McAsshole...McSexist...not McDreamy," Meredith said, pointing a finger at Cristina. _

_"Right," Cristina said rolling her eyes._

_"I'm serious, he is so not McDreamy. Nothing dreamy about him," Meredith said with an angry glare._

_"Why are you getting so defensive about trying to prove you're not totally in love with him?" Cristina asked accusingly._

_"I'm not!" Meredith protested quickly, "Seriously! The mere thought of feeling anything but rage and hate for him makes me want to...McVomit!"_

_"Mhm," Cristina sang out, pouring herself a bowl of cereal._

_"I'm serious! He is so not someone I would ever date," Meredith said, rolling her eyes._

_"Okay," Cristina said with a shrug._

_"And I would definitely not sleep with him," Meredith said, grabbing some cups to pour the coffee._

_"Mer," Cristina said with a laugh, "You sleep with everyone with a pulse."_

_"That is not true! I can't believe you just said that!" Meredith exclaimed, looking at her friend. She could tell by the look she was giving her that she wasn't going to back down. And she was right. Admitting defeat seemed like her best option._

_"It's just...he's just so...and I'm just...I'm having a hard time..." she stumbled, "Um..are you working already?"_

_"Don't turn this around on me, and hell yes I'm working today. Like I'd miss out on an opportunity to scrub in, I mean, seriously, Mer," Cristina smirked and put her bowl in the sink as she grabbed her cup of coffee and started up the stairs for a shower._

_Derek leaned on the back wall of the elevator, typing on his blackberry and waiting for the doors to close. He closed his device and stuck it in his pocket, looking up with a sigh and wondering why it was taking so damn long for the doors to close and the elevator to start moving. The doors were about to close and he sighed again, this time with relief. _

_"Catch it!" Cristina called to Meredith as the doors started to close. Meredith ran forward and slipped her arm through the closing doors, effectively stopping them and pushing them back open. She smiled, satisfied as the doors slowly peeled back open, her smile dropping instantly as she saw her boss standing before her...her boss who looked undeniably dreamy, leaning against the back of the elevator. Meredith stepped in and sighed._

_"Dr. Shepherd," she greeted coolly. _

_"Dr. Grey," he said back in the same tone. Both inside were all but dying in want for the other. Neither had really ever felt so strongly about wanting to be with another person, even though no attempts were being made to express this feeling. In fact, it was just the opposite. They were trying harder to keep it inside. Maybe it was the 'want what you can't have' thing. Maybe it wasn't. But either way, inside, they both thought that they'd never find out._

_"Took you long enough," Meredith said with a smirk, looking at Cristina, who had just stepped into the elevator, out of the corner of her eye._

_"Shut up. My head still hurts from this morning when you made me bang it on the coffee table, you're not aloud to be a smart ass today. Plus, sarcasm doesn't suit you, seriously, leave that part up to me," Cristina said._

_"First, I didn't make you do anything. Second, I'm good at the sarcasm thing. George even said so," Meredith stated._

_"First, you kicked me, causing me to hit my head, and therefore, making me. Second, George thinks you're good at everything because he's in McLove with you, leave Bambi out of this," Cristina said with a sigh. _

_"I don't know why I'm friends with you," Meredith said._

_"Because I'm the only person in the world as bitter and bitchy as you," Cristina said with a smirk. The doors finally closed for a second time. It seemed like the elevators were malfunctioning or something. A silence dropped over the elevator and the tension between Meredith and Derek became highly obvious again. Meredith looked pleadingly at the numbers above the door, hoping for the doors to peel open soon. Finally, there was an abrupt stop, followed by a ding and the doors slid apart. Meredith rushed out quickly, leaving Cristina standing there, dumbfounded. She shrugged and looked back at Derek._

_"Good luck...I think she's PMSing," she said with a smirk before leaving the elevator to follow Meredith. _

_Meredith sat at the desk in the empty room, putting samples into bags to go to the lab. After running trauma pages, as instructed to do by his majesty, she was happy to get a chance to sit. She wondered what had sparked his 'soft' moments the day before. Maybe whatever she pulled she could do again. _

_"Dr. Grey?" she heard from the door. _

_"Yes, Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith asked, looking up._

_"Discharge my guy in 2216, please," he said, never looking up from the chart he was reading. _

_"Okay," Meredith said with a sigh, looking back down at the labs that she had to deliver. How the hell did he do this? Come up with an unimaginable number of labs for her to run, that is. What, did he harbor patients or something? And on top of that, he came up with an ungodly amount of meaningless crap for her to do. How did he do it? Meredith glared at his distancing form slightly before she went back to her lab sorting. _

_"Hey, sexy," Mark said with a smirk as he started walking beside Derek. Derek looked up at him with a questioning look on his face._

_"What did you just call me?" he asked, closing his chart and stopping. Mark stopped to and shrugged._

_"You're just jealous because you're not comfortable with your sexuality like me," Mark said with a sigh, grabbing Derek's chart, "What're you reading? Something good? All I get is boobs...not that I'm complaining." Derek shook his head and laughed as they started walking again._

_"So, you still having that problem?" Mark asked, reading over the chart._

_"What problem?" Derek asked._

_"The Meredith...sorry...Dr. Grey problem. You know, the whole, I'm being an asshole and causing lots of tension, thing. How's that working for you?" Mark asked._

_"It's fantastic," Derek said with a smirk._

_"I'm glad. Let me know how the story ends. We'll talk at the wedding," Mark said sarcastically and with a chuckle as he handed Derek back the chart and walked off. "See ya later, buddy." Derek rolled his eyes and placed his hand on the door knob, turning it and stepping inside. _

_Cristina assured Meredith that she'd be home as soon as the best surgery of her life got finished. Meredith laughed in spite of this. Cristina loved surgery. She imagined Cristina in her shoes, no surgeries, only labs and bedpans. It was actually a quite amusing vision. The doors to the elevator opened and a few doctors and nurses filed out, followed by an unloading of some patients' relatives. Meredith stepped onto the elevator for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, relishing in the confidence that she was going to be home very soon, on her comfortable couch, and off her feet. As fate would have it, though, her ass was getting kicked by someone in heaven who hated her that day, and luck was not on her side. The person that she hated most in the world, or at least really tried very hard to hate, stepped on second after her. Derek Shepherd. The doors closed and the first floor that the elevator dropped was ridden in silence. But as the numbers changed from five to four, Meredith spoke._

_"You're an ass," she said, looking straight ahead._

_"Excuse me?" Derek asked, thinking he didn't hear her correctly._

_"I'm just saying. I mean, you treat me like crap, just because your sexist, you don't even give me any chances, you're obviously making me feel like the lowest piece of crap for a reason. It's because you're an ass. You. Are. An. Ass." Meredith said, still looking forward._

_"Dr. Grey, you know I'm your boss. You work under me for three years, calling me an ass is not the best way to stay out of trouble. I can reprimand you," Derek said, looking over at her._

_"I know...and you will," Meredith said, looking over at him and making eye contact with him, "But I still don't back down to your intimidating tactics." And at the perfect time, the doors opened and Meredith walked away as quickly as possible. Maybe luck did have her back at that particular moment. _

___Day 7..._

_"You coming in today?" Meredith asked Cristina as she rushed to get ready, pulling on clothes as she ran around to find her keys. _

_"No," Cristina said, her mouth full of eggs, "Dr. Burke won't let me. He says I stayed too late for surgery last night, so I had to take the day off." She rolled her eyes and shook her head, obviously despising the fact that she wouldn't get any hot surgeries. "Whatever."_

_"Consider yourself lucky. I haven't had a day off in a week...seven days straight, at least eighteen hours a day," Meredith said, pulling her hair back, finally fully clothed. It was her turn to roll her eyes at the thought of Dr. Shepherd making her come in and work so hard and so much. _

_"Hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Cristina said with a shrug and smirk, pulling out the carton of orange juice and taking a drink from it to wash down her breakfast. Meredith stopped and glared at her slightly._

_"You're a bitch...and use a glass," she said before walking out of the house._

_"Have a fun day with McDreamy!" Cristina exclaimed. _

_"Go to hell!" Meredith exclaimed back before the door slammed behind her. Cristina smirked, satisfied with herself and her great sarcasm before she started humming to herself obnoxiously._

_"Hey, we're going out for drinks tonight," Mark said as he swung the door to Derek's office open and stepped in, uninvited._

_"Really? Since when?" Derek asked._

_"Uh..since now, obviously. God, you're such an idiot sometimes," Mark said, rolling his eyes._

_"Alright," Derek said with a sigh, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his desk, folding his hand, "Why are we going for drinks tonight?"_

_"Okay, dude, you never need to ask why we're going for drinks. We're men. We go for drinks and have one night stands that will most likely come back to bite us in the ass. It's what we do. When did you become such a girl?" Mark shook his head and leaned back in his chair with a sigh, "What am I going to do with you? You really need to grow up man." Derek chuckled a little at Mark's comment and the irony that was in it. This was Mark he was talking to._

_"Well, if we're..." Derek started, the door swinging open again cutting him off. _

_"Dr. Shepherd, I'm here," Meredith said, standing in the open doorway._

_"I can see that," Derek said, looking up at her._

_"No knocking or anything. Derek, you really should train her better," Mark said with a chuckle, getting up from his seat and silently excusing himself, winking at Meredith as he walked by and slapping her ass with a laugh. Meredith rolled her eyes and ignored him as she crossed the barrier into the threshold of Dr. Sheperd's office. _

_"So? What's my punishment...for calling you an ass. What do I do today?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. _

_"The usual," Derek said, standing from his desk and starting out of the office, "Labs, post-ops, bedpans. Your punishment is sutures. Lots of sutures...cover the pit. Make sure it all gets done." He looked at her one last time before fully leaving the office and making his way to his first consult. _

_ It seemed like just minutes before that he had left his office with orders for her, getting straight down to the consults and surgeries he had scheduled. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen her all day that made it go by so quickly. Or maybe it was because he had seen her, every minute, in the back of his mind. She was that slight distraction, that aggravating frustration that he couldn't solve, she was the reason he started to question the stance he'd been taking all his life, the reason he questioned why he was such an ass. But, none of that mattered, he thought. None of it mattered, because she already hated him anyway, and there was no changing that. So, it was better to just get her out of his mind, and get working on the drink that sat right in front of him. He hadn't taken a swallow since Joe had set it down in front of him. He desperately wanted to, but he couldn't yet. Not until he got that piercing thought out of his mind, that twisting feeling in his gut. He couldn't take a drink until he could convince himself that he was not slowly falling in love with the woman that he'd terrorized fully for an entire week. She passed the initiation. There were only two women out of a total of around twenty that had made it through a week with Derek and Mark. Bailey, and now Meredith. Maybe she was strong. Maybe she was worthy. Maybe she was cut out to be a surgeon. This was what had truly been nagging at Derek. What if the way he'd been treating her was for no blank reason at all?_

_The day was surprisingly short for Meredith. Or, at least it seemed to be. It felt like it had been seconds before Shepherd had given her her massive assignment. Maybe it was because she had seen him all day that it seemed to go by quickly. Or maybe it was because she had seen him, practically every second of the day, he was there. That minor aberration, that annoying fluster that she couldn't figure out. But none of it really mattered at all, because he had already decided he hated her. That was predetermined. So, it was for the best to just erase him from her mind, just worry about getting home. She had driven the short length between the hospital and her house in a distant gaze, an alternative universe. Everything was really a meaningless blur as she focused for the first time, on that one little piece of her that wanted Derek. That one little piece of her that wanted t see something more from him than just a good-looking asshole, the piece that fantasized about what that 'more' was like. _

_"You look like shit," Cristina said, never taking her eyes off the television screen, as Meredith walked into the house and plopped next to her on the couch. _

_"Thanks," Meredith said, cocking her head slightly and shrugging her shoulders as she looked over at Cristina. _

_"Hm," Cristina murmured out a soft groan in response._

_"I could use some tequila," Meredith said, turning her attention to the surgery show Cristina had on that she seemed to be so entranced in. Cristina for the first time turned away from the show and smiled. _

_"We never did go out for those celebratory drinks," she said. _

_"Hell yes," Meredith smiled slightly, nodding in approval with Cristina's brilliance. _

_Mark dragged Derek over to the table that they usually sat at, acting peppy and excited in a very child-like, Mark way. He sat down across from Derek and smiled at him, not saying anything. _

_"What's your problem?" Derek asked, slightly creeped out. _

_"What's yours?" Mark asked with a shrug, leaning forward on the table as he put his serious face back on and took a drink of beer. _

_"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, looking a Mark, confused. _

_"Come on, Derek. Something's bothering you, we've been best friends for...since elementary school. I can tell when something's up, so tell me, what's up?" Mark asked. _

_"So we came to the bar for girl talk, did we?" Derek asked with a smirk. _

_"We're friends, Derek. Come on, you tell me your problem, I'll tell you how to fix it," Mark said with a reassuring smile. Derek sighed and leaned back in his chair. _

_"It's...well, I think I made a mistake, Mark...I know I made a mistake. It's..." Derek turned slightly as he heard the bell to the door ring, force of habit, seeing the girl who's name he still didn't know enter, followed directly by Meredith. He turned around again to face Mark and stopped talking, taking a sip of his scotch. _

_"Ah...It's Meredith," Mark said, his all-knowing grin appearing. He looked over at her as she went to the bar before returning his gaze to Derek. "This may be your only chance, dude. Don't blow it, go over there, talk to her, say whatever you have to say, do whatever you have to do, show her who you are. If you really think you made a mistake, prove it." Derek looked at Mark, smirking a little in spite of his friend's sudden response, and wondering how the idiot he knew that lived for meaningless sex became so wise about relationships. "Besides, I need you out of my hair if I want to get any ass tonight. With as much as we come in here together, I don't think I want people thinking what they might be...thinking." Mark suddenly looked a little perplexed as if he were confused about what he'd just said. Derek chuckled slightly and shook his head, grabbing his empty glass for a refill. _

_"Yeah, the moment of wisdom is over," he said as he made his way to the bar. _

_Meredith sat at the bar and laughed with Cristina. She'd downed seven tequila shots in a matter of two and a half minutes and was already feeling slightly buzzed, which was a pleasant relief compared to the usual pressure and annoyance over Dr. Shepherd. She laughed at some smart-ass comment Cristina made as Joe placed another three shots in front of her._

_"Are you sure you want these, Meredith?" Joe asked, looking at her skeptically._

_"Of course she wants them...we'll switch her to beer after this. Ten is a nice even number, it works perfectly," Cristina said with a shrug before taking another sip of her vodka. Meredith laughed and looked over at her friend. She remembered back to before her internship as she picked up one of the shot glasses and downed its contents. Before her internship, seven shots would not have been a big deal. Hell, seventeen shots wouldn't have been a big deal. She'd definitely become accustomed to less liquor in her run to become a serious doctor. And she had to admit, as the burning liquid sleeked its way down her throat, it tasted pretty damn good. _

_"Dr. Grey," a familiar voice came from beside her. Meredith almost choked on the shot she had just picked up and started to swallow. Her ninth shot. She set it down and coughed a little, trying to get the mix of the burn from the alcohol and the burn from the choking on it out of her throat. _

_"Dr. Shepherd," she greeted back with a nod as she finally got a hold of her vocal cords again. Derek smiled at her and shook his head, still waiting for his refill. _

_"Yeah, um...I have to go...um...somewhere...that's not here right now," Cristina said, slipping off her stool and escaping the awkwardness. _

_"So," Derek said with a sigh a few second later, "You made it passed the first week."_

_"Excuse me?" Meredith asked, finishing the last shot in front of her. _

_"Your first week as my pupil, you made it through. Congratulations," he clarified._

_"Oh, right..." Meredith said with a nod, feeling slightly awkward. _

_"I want you to know...I'm not going to be an ass anymore," Derek said, diverting his gaze from the counter and making eye contact with Meredith, "And, I'm sorry. For this passed week. You did well, Meredith." Meredith looked over at him, holding his gaze as she took in his words. A smile formed on her lips and she turned her eyes away as she started to laugh._

_"You said you wouldn't call me Meredith," she said in her drunken haze._

_"What?" Derek asked, slightly confused as a small smile formed on his face at the sound of her uncontrollable laughter._

_"You told me that you wouldn't call me Meredith, because you were my boss," she said with raised eyebrows, pointing an accusatory finger at him. Derek smiled at her and shook his head._

_"Right now, I'm not your boss...I'm just a guy in a bar," he said with a shrug. Meredith looked up at him and stopped laughing, returning his sheepish smile._

_"And I'm just a girl in a bar," she replied. _

___Day 8..._

_Derek's alarm clock buzzed at exactly 5:20 am each morning, and just like every other morning, it shrieked at its scheduled time, effectively jolting Derek out of sleep. He reached over and turned it off as quickly as possible, following his routine perfectly so far. He couldn't think coherently enough in the morning to do things on his own, that's why he had the routine. It worked perfectly, and so far, the routine was going as normal, plan going as planned. But, then, there was the one thing, the one thing that was slightly different during that particular morning's routine. Because on that morning's routine, Derek rolled over to find a sleeping, and very naked, Meredith Grey in his bed. He shot up, suddenly more coherent at this early hour than he had been for years. His head hurt, pounded, throbbed, ached, whatever word possible to describe pain bad enough to seem like you were hit by a small animal moving at very high speeds, but he was still highly alert, and the pain seemed a mere nothing compared to the shock of seeing her there. He remembered the first few details after he'd apologized, and he remembered the last few details of the best sex he'd ever had, but everything in between was kind of fuzzy. He imagined it was the same for her, seeing as she was even more drunk than him. What was he going to do? Mark was probably already out in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading Playboy, he couldn't let Mark know about this. But, he couldn't just leave her lying there. Slowly, her reached out and slightly shook her, gently caressing her back with his hand._

_"Meredith?" he asked softly. _

_"Him...hold on," Meredith muttered into the pillow, opening her eyes suddenly upon realizing that it was not Cristina who was waking her up, and the bed she was lying in was not her own._

_"What the hell?!" She exclaimed as she saw Derek. She jumped up from the bed, grabbing his sheets and wrapping them around her body, "Holy shit!" _

_"What the hell happened last night?!" she asked frantically. _

_"We had sex," Derek answered very calmly._

_"Yeah, I can see that," Meredith said, "But...you're...you're my boss! And you're an ass...and you're my boss!"_

_"I know, Meredith, but you need to calm down, we should talk about..." Derek started._

_"Oh my God. I had sex with my boss! Dr. Shepherd, we had sex," Meredith said in a matter-of-fact tone._

_"I was there, yes," Derek said sarcastically. _

_"Okay...I have to leave," Meredith said, obviously freaking out as she searched for her clothes and mumbled to herself, the occasional swear word coming out quite audibly. _

_"You can't...Mark's out there," Derek said, running a hand through his hair as he tried to decide what to do._

_"What?!" Meredith sprang up, looking at Derek wide-eyed, "I had a threesome with two of my bosses?!"_

_"What? No, Mark is my roommate," he said._

_"Oh, thank God," Meredith sighed, returning to finding the remainder of her clothes. _

_"Well, what are we gonna..." Derek started, both of them stopping what they were doing as the door swung open and Mark stepped in._

_"Hey, Derek, are we..." he stopped mid sentence as he shifted his eyes between his half naked friend, and wrapped-in-a-sheet Meredith. "Ohohoho, this is so much better than Penthouse." Obviously, the ride to the hospital was awkward and uncomfortable, but it was the only option Meredith had, unless she called Cristina. And she did not want Cristina finding out about her one-night-stand with the boss that she constantly complained about. Meredith remembered good tequila and great sex, but she couldn't remember why she would have slept with him in the first place. What did he say? Or was she just drunk enough to sleep with anything that had a pulse? Meredith got out of the car and walked into the hospital as quickly as possible to avoid Dr. Shepherd. She walked in through the doors and was immediately pulled to the side. _

_"Meredith, where the hell were you last night?" Cristina demanded, "I was so worried!" _

_"Dr. Grey, can I speak to you?" Derek pulled her away quickly. It was like Meredith was the rope in the game of tug-of-war, and she couldn't decide which of the competitors were the lesser of two evils. _

_"Meredith, we need to talk about this," Derek said, looking around as he pulled her into the stairwell. _

_"I...um...we...no we don't," Meredith said at a loss for words._

_"Meredith, we had sex," Derek said._

_"Yes, I'm well aware of that, but um..." she looked around quickly, "Dr. Shepherd, we should pretend it never happened." Derek smirked a little slightly amused._

_"And how do you suppose we do that? It's going to be very hard for me, now that I've seen you naked," he leaned against the railed and flashed her a cocky, yet extremely charming grin. _

_"I don't know how, we just should. Out of sight out of mind. We got drunk and it just happened...and it's never going to happen again," Meredith said with a reassuring nod. Derek chuckled slightly. Not being able to have her only made him want her more. She obviously didn't realize this. He decided right then and there that this battle was going to end up on his side._

_"You say that now," he said, walking around her to leave, "Oh, and if my memory serves correctly, it 'just happened' three times." Meredith rolled her eyes and glared at the door that closed behind him. He was making this a game. He wasn't taking this seriously at all, and obviously, he wasn't freaking out. She was freaking out. It bothered her that he wasn't freaking out. She immediately decided that this battle was going to end up on her side. _

_"What was that about?" Cristina asked as Meredith approached her._

_"What was what about?" Meredith asked. _

_"Dr. Shepherd, this morning, pulling you away from me. What did the jackass do now?" Cristina asked._

_"Oh, McDreamy didn't do anything," Meredith answered, silently cursing herself for what she'd just said. _

_"McDreamy? What happened to McAss? I thought we weren't calling him McDreamy," Cristina said, confusion written all over her face._

_"We're not..." Meredith said defensively, "It just...slipped." Cristina eyed her suspiciously, trying desperately to make the connection, but not being able to. _

_"Dr. Grey, you're scrubbing in with me on a craniotomy in two hours, be ready," Derek said with a nod, walking up beside Meredith and subtly placing his hand on the small of her back as he talked._

_"Okay, yeah. Um...I'll be ready," Meredith said with a smile. Derek smiled back before walking off. _

_"Okay, what's going on?" Cristina asked. _

_"Um...nothing, I just...um...was that a flamingo?" Meredith finally came up with the worst best lie she could and walked away, leaving Cristina confused. _

_Meredith made her way down the hall, toward OR 2. She was happy about being in on the surgery, sure. But that didn't mean she wasn't dreading it. Before, she couldn't stand to be in the same room as Derek because he was an ass, and now it was because he wasn't. Now he was being all nice and McDreamy and totally-fine-that-we-slept-together person. And, he'd turned their professional relationship into a game of chase, cat and mouse, whatever. She knew that he was her boss, her mentor, that she shouldn't have a relationship with him, that she shouldn't have had sex with him. But, for some reason, she didn't only think that he would end up winning this game they were in, she actually almost hoped he would. She hurried and scrubbed in before heading through the OR door. A scrub nurse walked over and handed her a towel to dry her hands, helping her into her gown and snapping some gloves onto her hands. _

_"Thank you," Meredith said, smiling under her mask at the nurse, who nodded an acceptance in return, before heading over to the table to look at the patient. He looked so peaceful, so tranquil as the anesthesia whisked him away into dreams. She would've given anything for that. A moment of oblivion to the rest of the world and all of her problems. Even if it did mean waking up with one hell of a headache. She sighed and smiled down at the patient, who of course, had no acknowledgment of this, seeing as he was asleep. _

_"Don't you look peaceful," she said softly, her voice being masked by a deeper, masculine one._

_"It's a beautiful morning to save lives everyone, lets have some fun," Derek's familiar voice rang out as he approached the table. He looked over at Meredith and flashed her a smile made apparent by his eyes, which happened to be giving her a very sexy, McDreamy look. Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head at him as she smiled back slightly. The change in their being, in their relationship was dramatic. They went from being cold toward each other to exchanging smiles and flirty glances in the OR over night. Derek diverted his McDreamy gaze from her and to the nurse._

_"Scalpel," he said, nodding toward the nurse. She picked up the instrument and handed it to him carefully. He, in turn, held it out to Meredith. "Ready?"_

_"What?" Meredith asked, looking at him questioningly._

_"Are you ready to save this man's life?" Derek specified. _

_"You're letting me do this?" Meredith asked, looking at him incredulously. _

_"Are you going to take the scalpel or not, Dr. Grey?" Derek asked expectantly. Meredith glared slightly at him as she grabbed the scalpel and started to work. Derek stood dangerously close to her, instructing her by leaning over and talking softly into her ear. His hot breath and the knowing of his body being right behind her made it slightly difficult for her to concentrate, but she successfully removed the pressure on the patient's brain. She stood in the scrub room, hours later, washing her hands. She sighed as she started toward the door when Derek walked in through the OR._

_"You did extremely well, Dr. Grey," he commented. She stopped walking and turned to face him._

_"Thank you," she said, stepping back toward the sink. Derek nodded and smiled at her before turning his attention back to washing his hands. "I have a question."_

_"And I have an answer," Derek said with a smile._

_"Why did you let me do the surgery? Yesterday, you seemed to have absolutely no faith in me, and today you hand me a scalpel and ask me if I'm ready to save a man's life. Why?" Meredith asked. Derek pulled away from the sink and looked down at her, studying her sincere expression before answering._

_"Because I want to get into your pants again," he joked with a smirk. Meredith glared at him._

_"Not funny," she said seriously. Derek sighed, cocking his head slightly to the side._

_"I haven't been giving you enough privileges, Meredith. From the second I saw you, I knew you had potential. I knew you were a great surgeon. I didn't give you a fair chance, though. This is my giving you a fair chance. You're a surgical fellow, more than certified to do a procedure unsupervised. I was just giving you a fair chance," Derek said with a shrug. It was silent for a minute as they stood there, just looking at each other. "Would you monitor the patient?" _

_"Sure," Meredith answered softly._

_"Thank you," Derek said before leaving the scrub room. _

_Meredith monitored the patient throughout the day, watching some surgeries and monitoring some other patients when she wasn't sitting in the room with him. He was doing well. He'd woken up briefly and fallen back asleep soon after. She sat in his chair, listening to the steady beep of his heart monitor, almost a melodic sound, and wrote in his chart._

_"Hey," she heard from the doorway. Meredith turned her head and looked over at Derek. She smiled slightly._

_"Hey," she said back._

_"How's he doing?" Derek asked, walking into the room and pulling out his flashlight, lifting his sleeping eye lids and looking into his eyes._

_"He's doing very well," Meredith assured him with a nod._

_"That's good," Derek said softly, putting his flashlight back into his pocket and sighing. "You should go home now, it's getting late."_

_"Alright," Meredith said with a sigh, standing and closing his chart. Derek smiled at her and caught her gaze briefly before she started out of the room. She stopped and turned back. "Dr. Shepherd, thank you. For the fair chance thing." She smiled at him and shrugged._

_"You're welcome," he said, shaking his head and smiling at her. The made eye-contact again, and stood there, smiling at each other for a brief moment._

_"See you tomorrow," Meredith said as she turned and left the room._

_"Bye," Derek said. Meredith smiled and let out a breath of relief. The day hadn't gone too bad. She thought it would be awkward, but it wasn't. And the sudden change in their relationship, how fast their attitudes between each other switched, was very relieving. The only downside to the whole thing was that Meredith couldn't deny the slowly growing feelings she had for him anymore, there was nothing stopping it now._

_"So, you're probably just about the hardest person in this hospital to find," Cristina said as she stepped onto the elevator that Meredith was already occupying. Meredith looked up from her cell phone, which she was using to send a text message._

_"I've been avoiding you," she said with a sheepish smile, sending the message and closing her phone, placing it into her pocket. _

_"I figured that out when you went running off because you 'saw a flamingo'," Cristina said with a smirk. Meredith shook her head and laughed before growing serious again._

_"It's a personal matter...I really don't want to talk about it," Meredith said, referring to where she had been the night before._

_"Okay," Cristina said with a nod._

_"Okay?" Meredith asked._

_"Okay," Cristina repeated. _

_"Okay," Meredith said with a smile, satisfied with Cristina's not pushing the matter. "So, what's on the agenda for tonight? Watching surgery tapes and eating popcorn?" _

_"As always," Cristina said, smiling at Meredith. _

___Day 9..._

_Mark Sloane was feeling impressively clever and talented ever since the day before. After all, it was he who had pushed Derek to go to Meredith. And he was right. All along, he was right. So, it was imaginable that, in his moment of glory, Mark was feeling even more egotistical and invincible than before. That is why he felt free to sit at the lunch table, eating his pastrami on rye with mustard, while reading a porn magazine._

_"You know, I think the Playboy is starting to offend the nurses," Derek said with a chuckle as he sat down, referring to all of the women around them that were sending daggers at Mark._

_"It's a Penthouse, thank you very much," Mark said defensively._

_"Naked girls are naked girls," Derek said cynically. _

_"they're actually only half naked," Mark said as he looked up from his magazine, "and it'd be a lot less hard for me to enjoy my readings if you'd be more open toward my hobbies."_

_"Fine, I'm open. Enjoy you're staring," Derek said, shaking his head._

_"Thank you," Mark said as he closed the magazine and placed it aside. "So, how's the whole Meredith thing going?" _

_"I haven't actually talked to her today. A patient came in with seizures today, she's been running all the tests and trying to find a diagnosis. Voluntarily," Derek added. _

_"I see," Mark nodded. "Hey, you realize that just because you banged her, I'm not going to stop hitting on her." Derek rolled his eyes and shook his head at Mark before taking another bite of his sandwich._

_"All I'm saying, is that he slapped me on the ass today. I swear," Cristina finished, sitting on the floor next to Meredith in the midst of all the research. She was helping her find a diagnosis for the girl having seizures that had been brought in._

_"I wouldn't doubt it. He's slapped me on the as too," Meredith said, not looking up from her book._

_"Ass," Cristina said, rolling her eyes. "And just for the record, my ass is hotter than yours." She added._

_"Without a doubt," Meredith said, shaking her head and laughing. _

_"So, Shepherd has you doing research again?" Cristina asked, shifting her eyes to Meredith._

_"Um, no. I volunteered this morning," Meredith said._

_"Woah. He gave you a surgery yesterday, and he's not being harsh today either?" Cristina asked. _

_"Um, yep," Meredith answered, turning the page. Cristina stood up and put the book she had back, pulling out another one._

_"What's with that?" Cristina asked. "What'd you do, sleep with him?"_

_"No," Meredith said after a seconds hesitation. "He's just...not being an ass anymore. He told me that he wouldn't be an ass anymore." Meredith said firmly. _

_"Ooh. I think someone wants to get into your scrubs," Cristina said with a smirk._

_"Nope. Just giving me a fair chance," Meredith said, closing her chart and putting it away._

_"So, McDreamy really is McDreamy after all," Cristina concluded._

_"I guess so," Meredith said with a smile. "I'm going to check on her." _

_"Alright, see you later," Cristina said, waving goodbye slightly. _

_"So, tonight, six o'clock," Derek said walking up to Meredith at the nurses station and standing next to her._

_"What?" Meredith asked, confused as she looked up from her chart._

_"For our date. I'll pick you up at six tonight," Derek said, turning his body to face her and leaning on the nurses station._

_"What date? I never agreed to a date," Meredith said._

_"Oh, but you did," Derek said with a smirk, "It sounded something like 'Oh, yes, yes, Derek' followed by a series of more yeses."_

_"That's not even funny," Meredith glared at Derek, pointing an accusatory finger at him as she closed her chart and turned as well. "Besides, I don't date my bosses."_

_"But you sleep with them? That's kind of backwards," Derek said with a shrug, grinning down at her. Meredith looked around quickly._

_"Would you shut up? People can hear you!" she scolded. Derek chuckled lightly, shaking his head._

_"Anyway, I don't know how you managed to turn this into a conversation about sex, but getting back to the point, I'll pick you up for our date tonight at six," Derek smiled._

_"No," Meredith said sternly._

_"Oh, is six not good for you? We can do 6:30," Derek said._

_"No, no to the date. I'm not dating you...I'm not sleeping with you," Meredith said. _

_"Hm..." Derek said, stepping slightly closer to her and placing his hand on her hips as he leaned down and brought their lips inches apart. He stayed like this for a few seconds, despite the stares they seemed to be collecting, before lightly brushing his lips over hers and bringing his mouth to her ears. "But I think you will be." He pulled back and smiled at her McDreamily. Meredith opened her eyes and stared up at him._

_"Tonight, six o'clock," he said again as he started off._

_"No!" Meredith called again, cracking a smile at him as she turned around to watch him make his way down the halls. _

_He found a whole new respect for female surgeons as she rushed over to him later in the day with her conclusion. They ran the tests, and sure enough, she was right. Her diagnosis was correct. She performed the surgery as if she were the top neurosurgeon in the world, and he was no longer just giving her a chance. Now he was respecting her. He held her work in high regards. It was amazing what one day could do, how it could change a person and their attitude toward someone so much. And now? Now she was there. Not there there, but there. There in his mind. And now, his mind drifted from his new found respect for her to how much he wanted her. And how not having her made him want her worse. And the her constantly being on his mind thing didn't help ease the want. He just needed to figure out a way to get her._

_She was really seeing a change in him. She knew, of course, they he wanted in her pants again, but she truly didn't believe that was the reason he changed. It was the sincerity in his eyes when he apologized, the respect she could see he'd gained for her as he watched her in surgery. It was amazing what one day could do, how it could completely change someone's mood for another person. He'd changed from hating her to respecting her, and she changed from viewing him as ass to super McDreamy. And now? Now he was there. Not there there, but there. There in her mind. Mind drifted from her new found belief in him to how much she wanted him. And not having him made her want him more. And the him constantly being on her mind thing didn't ease the want. And he wanted her too, she knew that. She just needed to figure out away to keep her self-control up enough to be able to say no to both their wants. She's almost lost it at the nurses station, the subtle touch of his hands on her hips, and his lips on hers, driving her crazy. All it took was that. She needed to learn how to not be affected by his McDreaminess. _

_"Long day," Derek said, smiling at Meredith as they rode the elevator._

_"Yeah," Meredith agreed with a nod and sigh. Derek watched her from the back of the elevator, and she could feel it, she knew it. It felt like to laser beaming in between her shoulder blades. "You're staring."_

_"So," Derek said._

_"I'm not dating you," Meredith said._

_"I know," Derek said with a smirk._

_"And we're not sleeping together," Meredith reestablished._

_"Mhm," Derek said with a nod._

_"And you shouldn't be..." Meredith started as she was interrupted by a stern voice that she recognized immediately._

_"Dr. Grey," Dr. Burke said as he stepped onto the elevator. _

_"Dr. Burke," Meredith greeted with a smile. Cristina was close on Dr. Burke's heels, starting up her persistent pleads to let her fly solo on a very difficult procedure again. _

_"It's not going to happen, Yang," he said, silencing her by holding up a hand before she even really started to talk. Everything in the elevator was silent. _

_"Well, this is awkward," Meredith muttered under her breath._

_"So, you're working for Dr. Shepherd," Dr. Burke said, clearing his throat as he filled the void of words._

_"Um, yeah," Meredith answered. _

_"Hm, can you run his labs without forging his signature?" Dr. Burke asked with a smile. Meredith rolled her eyes._

_"It was one time," she argued, also with a slight smile. Dr. Burke shook his head and faced forward again as silence went over the elevator. Cristina started whistling the theme song to Bonanza, causing Meredith to start laughing uncontrollably. The doors to the elevator finally peeled open and she rushed out, not being able to contain her laughter._

_"Someone's flying over the coocoo's nest," Cristina said with a shrug before following her. _

___Day 10..._

_There was a tingle in her spine, a sudden flutter in her stomach. She tried to contain her smile as he nonchalantly stepped behind her, standing as close as possible without actually touching her and subtly smelled her hair. _

_"Dr. Shepherd," she said in a warning tone. He smiled cockily yet innocently._

_"Yes?" he asked softly. Meredith swallowed hard at the sound of his voice. It was seductive, strong, yet, still soft and light. _

_"This is an elevator. And you're standing a little too close," she said, trying her damnedest to not lean back into him. _

_"Am I?" he asked, even though he said it more like a statement of challenge. _

_"You are," Meredith said, turning around and looked at him with raised eyebrows. "And I'm drawing the line. The line is drawn...there is a big line." She intended to say this sternly, but it turned out to be a nervous rambling as he took that last small step needed to all but infuse their bodies. _

_"So, this line," he said, cocking his head, "is it imaginary, or do I need to get you a marker?" Meredith couldn't face it anymore. She pushed him back into the wall quickly, their body's contact with each other temporarily dividing before she pressed her pelvis back into his and kissed him hard, urgently, aggressively. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back, turning the tables as he spun her around and pressed her against the wall, effectively causing her to bring her legs up and wrap them around his waist. He parted her lips gently with his tongue and plunged it inside her mouth quickly as urgency overtook him again. Her hips thrust forward slightly as she stopped running her fingers through his hair, grabbing a fistful and tugging slightly. She heard that last ding, her warning ding before the doors opened, and quickly loosened her legs, sliding down and disappearing from the space between him and the wall as she dodged out of the elevator. Derek turned around quickly, starting after her before the doors started to close again in his face._

_"Wait, Mere...We'll talk later?!" he called. Meredith smiled to herself, satisfied as she continued down the hall without looking back. _

_"Ma'am, I told you, you need an appointment, he's very backed up today, and..." the nurse started to explain to the woman again. The woman through her hands up in protest._

_"Huh," she let out a small, exasperated sound, "I don't need an appointment to see him. For Christ sakes, I gave..." she started. _

_"Um...is there a problem?" Meredith asked as she walked over, trying to help the flustered woman from Nurse Debbie, who was a little over-bearing with her bluntness sometimes. _

_"Have you seen Dr. Shepherd today, Dr. Grey?" Nurse Debbie asked, turning her attention toward Meredith. _

_"Um...yes, actually I just saw him," Meredith said, having a hard time keeping the smile from crossing her face. _

_"Do you know where he went to? These people are..." Nurse Debbie started._

_"These people? These people! I'm his..." the woman started._

_"Mom?" Derek's voice rang out behind her. _

_"Derek!" the woman spun around happily, grabbing her son and pulling him into embrace. _

_Derek sat across from his mom in a conference room. His dad was sitting next to her, smiling like an idiot, and Danielle, his younger sister, was sitting on the chair at the end of the table._

_"So, what are you doing here?" Derek asked curiously. _

_"What, can't we drop in and see out son every once in a while?" his mom asked with a grin, trowing her hands in the air and shrugging._

_"No, I mean what are you doing here, at my work, here. You could've gone to my house, or..." Derek started. _

_"Derek, I think it's best we cut right to the chase here," his mom interrupted, leaning forward and folding her hands on the table, "I have a brain tumor. And I want you to operate."_

_"Mom..." Derek started after a moments hesitation from shock, trying to absorb her words. "I can't operate on you...you're my mom, I'm not allowed."_

_"Someone will have to make an exception this time, then. Honey, you're the best brain surgeon in the world. I won't have anyone else operating on me," she said with a pleading look on her face. Derek sighed and smiled at her sympathetically._

_"I'll see what I can do, mom, but..." he started._

_"No buts about it, mister. Now get your ass up and take me to an exam room," she said sternly, yet with a warm smile as she stood up. His dad's extremely large, fake smile never left his face as he stood up next to his wife. Derek sighed and shook his head._

_"Mom..." he started._

_"I don't care how old you are, Derek. I can still take you over my knee, I'm you're mother," she warned. Derek smiled at her and rolled his eyes. He knew there was no arguing with his mom. Without any further protest he led her to an exam room. _

_Meredith walked to the exam room that Derek had had her paged to. She walked in to see the woman that she'd seen earlier, sitting on the exam table being checked out by Derek._

_"Dr. Shepherd, you paged," she said, sticking her head in through the cracked door. _

_"Yes, Dr. Grey, come in," Derek said, putting away his flashlight and writing in a chart. "I'm going to need you to take Mrs. Shepherd for a CT, an MRI, and run labs on her blood. Are you free?"_

_"Um...sure," Meredith said, stepping in to the room and closing the door behind her. _

_"Mom, this is Meredith, she's going to be..." Derek started._

_"You know who she looks like," the young, attractive girl in the corner interrupted with a laugh, "She looks Like Hannah Ryan...you remember her, Derek?" _

_"Yes, I do...I don't think we should talk about her, though," Derek answered with a smile._

_"Hannah Ryan..who was Hannah Ryan? Oh, I can almost remember her, she's just," Margaret started._

_"The babysitter," Henry cut in, "She was the babysitter."_

_"Yeah, remember? Derek got caught spanking the tater to her picture?" Danielle said with a laugh._

_"I'm pretty sure you made that up, Dani," Henry said with a chuckle. _

_"Do you think that because Derek is attracted to men?" Danielle asked with a large grin._

_"Oh, he's not attracted to men," Margaret said, "You know who was though? That Jonathon boy. You know, Danielle, you dated him for a while. How is he?"_

_"I don't want to talk about him," the girl said as her smile dropped instantly. _

_"Son, you have a piece of hair...hanging in your eyes," Henry said abruptly, swatting at his own forehead subconsciously. _

_"You do, Derek. It's just a little piece of..." Danielle started, motioning toward her forehead. Derek sighed and shook his head._

_"Anyway, this is Meredith," Derek started getting back to the point._

_"No, Derek, it's just a little piece, just...just slick it back..." Danielle interrupted. _

_"Mhm," Henry nodded in agreement._

_"Oh, I'll get the damn hair!" Margaret exclaimed, licking her fingers and wiping it back. Meredith laughed a little, pushing her lips together as she tried to keep anymore sounds from escaping._

_"This is Meredith. She'll be..." Derek started again, motioning toward Meredith._

_"Meredith, huh?" Margaret smiled at him knowingly. She glanced over at Meredith then back at her son. "Is there something going on between you and this Meredith girl?"_

_"She'd be good for you, Derek," Danielle stood up and walked over to stand beside her mom._

_"You know, there's a lot of ferry boats here, son," Henry said with great interest._

_"I know," Derek said._

_"You're slouching a little, Derek," Margaret said. "I thought I taught you about posture, you should stand straighter." _

_"Derek, the hair's in your face again," Danielle said._

_"Look at the military, all of those men stand perfectly straight," Margaret continued._

_"It's just...a little...it keeps on falling," Danielle said, pushing it back again._

_"Just get a damn haircut!" Margaret exclaimed. Derek sighed. _

_"Okay, I'll get a haircut, I'll stand up straight, I'm not gay, and yes, there are ferryboats here. Now, this is important," Derek said. _

_"Okay, soap-boy, we're listening," Danielle said._

_"Soap-boy? Why do you call him that?" Margaret looked over at her._

_"Because while some like lotion, Derek prefers soap," Danielle said with a laugh. _

_"You really do need a haircut you know," Henry rang out. _

_"Meredith is going to be taking you for some tests. I'll look at the results when she's finished, and we'll decide where to go from there," Derek continued. He finished jotting in the chart and handed it to Meredith. "I'll be back soon." He flashed one last smile at his family before leaving the room. _

_"So, tell me, Meredith, is there something between you and my son? Because it seems like there'd be something between you and Derek," Margaret said with a nod._

_"Oh, here we go," Danielle said._

_"You're just jealous because you don't have anything with anybody, it's okay," Margaret said, patting his sister's back. _

_"Speak for yourself," Danielle said._

_"No, there's nothing going on between Dr. Shepherd and I," Meredith said with a smile._

_"You're either lying, or there's going to be something going on. I know, trust me. Mother's intuition," Margaret said with a smile. _

_"So, your family is interesting," Meredith said with a grin as she walked up to Derek in the CT room. Derek laughed and shook his head. _

_"Hm, if that's what you want to call it," he said. "Oh, and you forgot to give me your address...for me to pick you up for our date last night. I'll be needing that." _

_"You won't be needing anything. I'm not dating you," Meredith said._

_"Really? Because this morning when you jumped on me in the elevator, I could have been so sure we were," Derek said with a smirk. The CT guy turned around in his chair and looked back between the two of them._

_"Inside joke," Derek said. The guy rolled his eyes and turned back toward the screen, shaking his head. Meredith glared at Derek who shrugged in return. _

_"Let's talk about this some other time, doctor," she said._

_"Okay, doctor," Derek said with a nod and smile, turning his attention toward the screen. He sighed as he looked down at his watch. "I have to go. Meet me in the elevator at four o'clock." He smirked at Meredith and walked out of the small room, leaving Meredith to laugh and shake her head. _

_Meredith brought the results of all of Margaret's tests to Derek's office about an hour later. _

_"Here you go," she said, handing them to him. He pulled them out and looked them over quickly. _

_"It's very minor," he said, looking slightly confused. "She should have it removed though before it grows any larger. I'm going to ask Dr. Webber to do this procedure, you scrub in with him." Meredith nodded._

_"Alright," she said, taking the results back to take them to Richard. _

_"Thank you," Derek said._

_"No problem," Meredith smiled at him before starting out the door. _

_"How long does it take, by the way? I'll need to know so I can clear my schedule," Derek said, stopping her. Meredith turned and looked at him, confused._

_"Dr. Shepherd, you're a surgeon, you should know how long a procedure like this..." Meredith started. Derek grinned up at her and laughed._

_"I'm talking about how long it's going to take me to get you on a date," he said. Meredith was silent for a moment, looking as if she was thinking. _

_"Never gonna happen," she finally replied with a smile. _

_"Okay, if you say so. I strongly disagree. I know you'll cave eventually, it's just a matter of when," Derek said. "It's okay, though. I like a good challenge."_

_"I guess it's a win win situation then, huh?" Meredith said with a smirk. _

_Meredith looked up in the gallery at Derek and gave him a reassuring smile through her mask as she stood at the head of the table. He smiled back slightly, leaning against the glass. _

_"Let's do this," Richard said with a sigh as he entered the OR and put on gloves. He walked quickly over to the table and held out his hand. "Scalpel." _

_It wasn't that much longer before the nurse was closing up the incision and Meredith and Richard were scrubbing out. She made her way quickly to the recovery room to wait for Derek's mom and see her through post-op. A few hours later, she was conscious, and Henry, Derek, and Danielle were in their with her. Meredith went in every once in a while through the last few hours of her shift to check on her, finding that she was okay every time. His mom was obviously strong. She was sitting up, talking and laughing with her family. Meredith smiled as she watched her through the window to her room and sighed as she walked off toward the stairwell. She started down the stairs slowly, not looking to see who was behind her as footsteps started descending after her. _

_"One date," Derek persisted, coming beside her._

_"You really don't give up, do you?" Meredith looked over at him with a smile. "Given the circumstances, I wouldn't expect you to be here right now, asking me out again."_

_"But I am," Derek said with a grin._

_"Dr. Shepherd, you're my boss. This isn't easy. I work under you in this hospital, technically as your employee," Meredith said with a sigh. _

_"There are places where it is much more fun to work under me, you know," Derek said with a smirk. Meredith rolled her eyes and stopped, looking over at him._

_"One date. But no sex. I'm not sleeping with you again," Meredith said._

_"You also said you weren't dating me," Derek said with a charming grin. _

_"Don't push your luck," Meredith pointed a warning finger at him._

_"Fine, no sex," Derek agreed._

_"Alright," Meredith said with a satisfied nod. _


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note:

Thank you guys sooo much for the wonderful reviews. Reviews are of course what keeps me writing, so, they're always appreciated. I know that first chapter was really long, but that's because I've been writing it for a long time, so you got all ten days at once. I'm going to go into a small Q&A thing really quickly for you guys:

This is NOT a one-shot. I plan to keep this going as long as I can. I've been working on day eleven to post, it should be up very soon. Sometime later tonight.

This is also NOT my first fic. I wrote a season three fic Titled: PAIN at the beginning of the summer and rode it out all the way until the premiere of Grey's. I think I wrote 27 episodes, four months long. I also wrote a Bomb AU. One of, what would have happened if Dylan lived... (it wasn't a Dylan/Mer fic though. I'm a Mer/Der shipper all the way!) I've written an AU called Total Eclipse of the Heart. I'm still working on that one, I've been posting it on another site. And I just started Over My Head. Which, is of course, this one. I've also written numerous other Grey's fics that I didn't post anywhere just because I wanted to save them until I finished the two fics I'm working on...but they got lost when my computer got a virus, so they are no more. Now that I've rambled on that enough...

Why is Derek so sexist? Honestly, I never thought about exactly 'why' it was. I just knew that it was. I guess he and Mark got together and formed a crazy conspiratorial philosophy against women surgeons. That's really all I can tell you until I figure out rather there is an exact reason or not. As of now, though, it is what it is. Plus, it made for some pretty damn good controversy, so what does does. LOL.

Okay, I think that pretty much ends my question answer thing. Was there anything that I missed?

I apologize for the last part of the first ten days being in italics. No clue how that happened. I'm sorry, I'm a little technologically retarded about this site. It's hard for me to figure out how to post and stuff...I think I have it kind of down though.

So, in conclusion...

This is not a one shot, this is not my first fic, I don't know why Derek is so sexist, and there will be an update tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

___Sorry this took so long in coming. I had a death in the family and this had to become second priority. Plus, I still haven't figured out this site. I apologize. And this update sucks. I apologize for that too. Please review, though. I always like comments! I promise from now on updates will be much more frequent! _

___Day 11..._

_"I think we need to compromise the no sex thing," Derek said, walking down the hall with a cup of coffee. Meredith took a drink of her own coffee and smiled at him. _

_"Ah, so that's what this was for, Butter me up, bribe me?" she asked with a grin. _

_"Would that be wrong?" Derek asked, flashing her his own charming grin._

_"The deal was no sex. If you want a date, you had to promise no sex, you promised that we wouldn't have sex," Meredith said. _

_"I didn't promise anything," Derek pointed out, "I simply said 'fine'." Meredith looked at him and sighed, shaking her head._

_"You're hopeless. Why don't you go visit your mother?" she asked with a laugh._

_"I tried, she's still asleep," Derek said. "Seriously though, no sex?"_

_"We finished this conversation three sentences ago, Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said. "Do you want the date or not?"_

_"I want the date, I just want the sex too," Derek answered. _

_"Hey, Mer, I was..." Cristina started as she ran up behind them. _

_"I'm busy, Cristina," Meredith said, looking at Cristina temporarily before diverting her eyes back to Derek._

_"Who? McDreamy? He has lives to save, go away," Cristina grabbed Meredith's arm and pushed past Derek, pulling Meredith down the hall. _

_"We'll negotiate later!" Derek called after her, laughing. Meredith shook her head and giggled back._

_"No we won't!" she called back. _

_"What's with the flirting?" Cristina asked suddenly._

_"What...what flirting? No flirting...nope. I'm not flirting, with anyone," Meredith quickly said._

_"Okay, whatever," Cristina blew it off. "I need the house tonight, alone. Are you gonna be home?"_

_"Uh, yeah. It's my house," Meredith said, rolling her eyes._

_"Okay, you need to find somewhere else to sleep. It's my house too," Cristina said quickly and with a smirk before walking off._

_"Cristina!" Meredith called after her. What the hell was she going to do? _

_"Good Morning, Meredith," Mark said with a smile, walking up behind Meredith who stood at the stairwell, looking up it angrily and blankly, obviously in thought._

_"It's 'Dr. Grey'!" Meredith exclaimed, turning to him suddenly. Mark jumped back a little at the sudden movement, almost spilling coffee on himself as it lapped out of his cup._

_"Woah! What's with the snarkiness...after all, I have seen you half naked," he said, giving her the 'McSteamy' face. _

_"I just got kicked out of my house. MY house. Because my roommate wants to have a date! Un-fucking-called for!" Meredith exclaimed, starting off._

_"Well, some of us have to make sacrifices for our roommates. Like for instance, how Derek is going to sacrifice you when we have wild sex, I ravish your body, and we get hitched," Mark smirked at her, starting quickly to follow her. Meredith turned her head and glared at him slightly._

_"I'm not in the mood for your idiotic antics. Go find a Playboy," she said, starting off even quicker. Mark stopped dead in his tracks._

_"It was a PENTHOUSE!" he called after her loudly. He sighed as he turned around and went off to find the one person who always...erm...most of the time...appreciated his presence._

_"Good news," he said, approaching Derek. "Meredith won't be letting me ravish her body any time soon."_

_"That is good news," Derek said with a shrug._

_"For you," Mark said, also shrugging. _

_"Jealous?" Derek asked with a grin._

_"I don't get jealous," Mark stated._

_"No, I don't get jealous. You're another story," Derek pointed out._

_"Whatever. That's so not true. The only person I'm jealous of is Hugh Hefner. The dude does more with old balls than I could do with brand new ones," Mark said with a sigh. Derek shook his head and laughed, stopping in front of the room he was making his way to._

_"Have you ever considered seeking help from a professional? It wouldn't be ill advised," he said, pushing the door open and stepping in. _

_"That wasn't very nice," Mark said, walking in behind him._

_"Aw, Derek. Are you being mean to my Mark?" Margaret asked with a smile as Mark walked over and hugged her gently._

_"I'm beginning to think you love him more than me," Derek said with a smile._

_"Should've figured it out years ago," Mark said with a smirk._

_"Now that's not true. I love both my boys equally," Margaret said with a grin. _

_"Yup. Their hands love them both equally too," Danielle piped up with a smile._

_"How many jokes about whacking off can you come up with?" Mark asked, looking at her disbelievingly. _

_"Since when does she date? You know? She's never dated. She didn't date in New York...why does she date here? And why does she kick me out of my house to do it?" Meredith mumbled to herself._

_"Talk to yourself often, Dr. Grey?" Derek asked with a smile, walking up to her. _

_"What are you talking about? I'm talking to my alter-ego," Meredith said with a smirk. _

_"I see," Derek said, sitting down beside her on the gurney in the hall. Meredith closed her book and looked over at him._

_"Can I help you?" she asked._

_"Yes, actually you can. In many ways...but I think they'd constitute as sex, so..." Derek said._

_"Is that all you think about?" Meredith asked with a laugh._

_"Yes," Derek answered simply. "So, what were you ranting about?"_

_"My roommate...kicking me out of my house tonight so she could have sex," Meredith rolled her eyes. Derek laughed and shook his head. "Okay, this situation? Not a laughing matter. This is serious. This is not funny. I have no where to stay!" _

_"You're not allowed to bring home a one night stand tonight...oh, and tomorrow morning, you have to wear clothes, boxers and shirt at least. Hide all of your tapes, magazines, and 'toys'. And most importantly, find that place to put your super-sized box of condoms," Derek rattled off as he approached Mark. _

_"First, Derek, you're talking about my things as if they were bad. They're not bad. They're good. Second, a life supply of condoms is an appropriate thing for any man to have. And last, why? I like my things to be out. And I like being naked," Mark turned and started after Derek quickly, trying to catch up with him. _

_"Meredith is spending the night, I need you to put your stuff away," Derek said simply. _

_"I prefer them to be called 'things' thank you very much. Yes. I will put my things away," Mark agreed._

_"Thank you," Derek said._

_"You're welcome," Mark said, still tagging behind Derek. "So, where you going? What's on the agenda for tonight?" _

_"Mark, go somewhere else. I saw your name on the surgery board," Derek called over his shoulder._

_"Ah, just a boob job, it can wait," Mark swatted his hand to dismiss his words._

_"You're a Plastic Surgeon. It's called breast augmentation," Derek sighed._

_"I like to consider myself more of a Synthetic Operations Specialist than a Plastic Surgeon, Derek. When you are a Synthetic Operations Specialist, you may call it breast augmentation. Those words, however, I find vulgar. I, call it a boob job," Mark stated. Derek stopped, turning and looking at Mark confused. _

_"Go perform the breast augmen...go do the boob job," he said, rolling his eyes. _

_"Right away, captain," Mark said, saluting Derek as he walked away. _

_Meredith was on her way to the locker room, trying to hide her excitement about the date. She'd never expected this. Had someone told her eleven days ago, even four days ago for that matter, that she would be going on a date with Derek Shepherd, and no less be excited about it, she would have laughed at them. Or maybe she would've scowled at them and said they were out of line to make such an absurd prediction. As she was passing by doors quickly to get to the locker room to change, one room caught her attention. She stopped, debating about going in or not. It was her case, after all, she just wanted to see how she was doing. With a sigh, she pushed the door open and smiled at the woman who was, at the time, alone in the room. Mrs. Shepherd put aside her magazine and smiled back._

_"Trash magazines. Nothing I love more than celebrity gossip," she explained. Meredith laughed a little as she stepped inside fully._

_"So, I was just wondering how you were doing, after your surgery and all. Everything okay?" she asked, grabbing her chart and flipping through it._

_"Well, I'd say so. Dr. Webber, Derek, and Mark all check me out constantly," she said with a smile. Meredith nodded as she set aside the chart and pulled out her stethoscope._

_"This is cold, I'm sorry," she apologized as she set the metal upon Mrs. Shepherd's chest. "Can you take a deep breath for me?" Mrs. Shepherd quickly obliged, drawing in and pushing out deep breaths. _

_"That's good," Meredith said, pulling away the stethoscope and wrapping it around her neck. "You're doing well. You can probably be release tomorrow if you want." _

_"Meredith," Mrs. Shepherd suddenly said, grabbing onto Meredith's wrist lightly. "What is it that's bothering you? You seem so...troubled."_

_"I'm fine, Mrs. Shepherd. I'm totally fine," Meredith assured her with a smile, patting her hand with free one._

_"Alright," Mrs. Shepherd let out a sigh, pulling her hand away and throwing her arms in the air. "Then I digress." She pulled her blankets a little further over herself and pushed her glasses off her eyes and up to her hairline. "Can I ask you something else?"_

_"Sure, go ahead," Meredith said, starting to write down the information she had taken in the chart. Mrs. Shepherd smiled mischievously, almost evilly._

_"What's going on with you and Derek?" she asked again, persistent on getting an answer. Meredith looked up from the chart quickly. _

_"Mrs. Shepherd...I told you...Der...Dr. Shepherd and I are...there's nothing going...we didn't...it's not like...we're not dating or anything...it's just...we had sex!" she blurted out all in one lump sum. _

_"Ah, I see," Mrs. Shepherd smiled cheerfully. "Well, I hope you got something you liked." She let out a sigh. "Thank you, Meredith." Meredith closed the chart and set it down._

_"Yeah," she said, quickly heading out of the room. _

_"You look beautiful," Derek said with a smile as Meredith stepped out of the locker room in her long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Meredith shook her head and laughed. _

_"Thank you. It took me hours to get ready," she said as they started down the hall. "What are we doing tonight?"_

_"Going on a date," Derek stated simply._

_"I know that. Where are we going on this date?" she asked. _

_"To a place," Derek said with a smirk as they stepped into the elevator. _

_"Well, that's pretty generic. Care to specify?" Meredith asked. _

_"No," Derek said, looking over at her and smiling. Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head. _

_"We have to stop by my house and pick up pajamas," she said._

_"Nope. You have to have sex with me, then sleep naked. That's one of my conditions about you staying the night," Derek said. _

_"That's not going to happen, sorry," Meredith said with a grin. _

_"Oh, it'll happen. I can assure you that it'll happen," Derek said. _

_"Hm, is that a challenge?" Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"Nope, it's a guarantee," Derek answered, flashing her his McDreamiest smile. _

_Meredith looked out the car window with extreme wonder and longing to know their destination. _

_"You're not going to figure it out," Derek insisted as he looked over at her and smiled. Meredith diverted her eyes from the shifting scenery of the outside world, turning her head to look back at him. The want to know was so great, she couldn't stand it anymore. She'd never been so anxious to find out what was at the other end of a surprise in store for her. _

_"If you tell me where we're going I'll sleep with you. In this car, right now. You pull over, and I'll have sex with you, if you tell me where we're going," she said. Derek's smile dropped as she finished._

_"Are you serious?" he asked disbelievingly. _

_"Dead serious," she said definitely._

_"Shit," Derek said, realizing his plan had kind of, sort of backfired. It wasn't really a hard decision to make. Or at least it normally wouldn't have been. He wanted the sex much more than the element of surprise, but he did want the element of surprise. Quickly deciding that he could persuade her to have sex with him later, he made his choice. "No." _

_"No?" Meredith asked, looking at him, shocked. _

_"I'm not going to tell you where we're going," Derek stated adamantly. Meredith looked at him a moment longer not believing that her plan had actually not worked. _

_"Your loss," she finally said with a slight grin as she turned her gaze back out the window, going back to her detective antics of figuring out just where they were going. _

_It wasn't long before the car came to a stop and Derek turned the keys, stopping the engine. _

_"We're here," he said with a grin, opening his door and stepping out._

_"Where's 'here'?" Meredith asked as she pushed her door open and slid out of the car eagerly. Derek walked behind the car and opened the trunk, pulling out a basket and a blanket. He smiled at Meredith as he walked over to where she was. He motioned for her to walk with him and started through a small brush of trees. Meredith sighed as she followed him through the short forest and came out on the other side, revealing what seemed like a whole different world. From a parking lot off the busy streets of Seattle, to the secluded, calm beach was a total change in scenery. Meredith looked around the beautiful area. Between the surrounding forest and the occasional rock was a world of sand, the soft sounds of sapphire blue water occasionally sweeping over it providing a tranquil, serene feel; peaceful. The sun was setting softly, creating a horizon and beautiful orange glow over the water that made the environment even more relaxed. Though she was barely able to recognize its very outline, Meredith could see a fishing boat in the far distance. Suddenly, the wonder of how she had never been to this place popped into her head. How had she never been to this beach? How had she never been surrounded by its amicable atmosphere? _

_"This is...this is stunning, Derek. This place is really beautiful," she said, turning toward him and smiling._

_"I know," Derek said, returning her smile as he moved position from behind her to a few feet away from her, spreading out the blanket and setting down the basket. He opened the basket and pulled out two wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and numerous gourmet cheeses and meats. He patted the spot on the blanket beside him and smiled slyly, almost seductively, up at Meredith. She rolled her eyes and made her way over to him, plopping down beside him with a sigh. The conversation between them came very easily, seemingly slipping by freely. There wasn't any awkwardness between them, even during short intervals of silence. It would seem that there would be, but the only tension that seemed to rise between them was sexual. At times when Derek would subtly slip his hand dangerously close to forbidden territory, or they'd exchange flirty glances, sitting __precariously close to each other and having in no way physical contact that both had a desire for, is when the tension would rise. But, Meredith was determined to not touch or come close to having sex in any way, shape, or form. As conversation and laughter flowed, and time slipped away, the sun dipped beneath the horizon line and the moon rose, creating a new shine on the water. On that was more relaxed and less warm. _

_"So, I'd say it's about time to get out of here," Meredith said, looking up at the beautiful stars overhead. _

_"Yeah," Derek agreed with a nod, looking down at his watch. "It's late." He stood up and started collecting things, putting them back into the basket. Meredith looked at him from her seat and smiled. She could tell by the way that he was moving that he was tense with frustration, undoubtedly coming from her withholding of contact. She laughed slightly at the effect she already seemed to have on him. Just one simple 'no sex' rule seemed to agitate the hell out of him. And they weren't even really 'together' together. It was only their first date. He picked up the basket and the blanket and they started back to the car, through the small forest and to the parking lot. _

_"This thing is really bothering you," Meredith said with a grin as they got into the car._

_"What thing?" Derek asked, confused, as he looked over at her. _

_"This no sex thing," Meredith answered. Derek's face, however, formed a smile of it's own._

_"Nope. There's going to be sex," he said, his voice holding a hint of something that was almost conspiratorial or plotted. _

_"That's what you think," Meredith said with a giggle as they started to Derek's house. _

_"Anything else?" Derek asked with raised eyebrows as Meredith finished her forever long list of what was not to be touched, kissed, said, tempted toward, or insinuated. _

_"Um...no, that's pretty much...OH! There has to be at least a pillow length between us at all times...speaking of which, do you have any pillows? We could build a barrier," Meredith said, happy with her idea._

_"A barrier?" Derek asked, looking at her with a less than amused face._

_"Alright. No barrier then," Meredith shrugged, finally lying down fully and pulling the covers over herself. Derek shook his head and chuckled slightly, clicking the light on the table beside off and slipping under the covers as well. Slowly, he inched closer, subtly and softly, being very careful to make it unknown to her. _

_A few minutes had gone by and Derek seemed to be abiding by the rules. Meredith smiled slightly, satisfied that she could be firm and have self control. Then she felt it. He was suddenly right next to her. Their bodies pressed together, his breath against her neck, whatever. They were in contact, and he was breaking the rules. _

_"Derek," Meredith said in a warning tone. _

_"Meredith," Derek said back, in more of a joking tone as one arm snaked around her waist. There were a few brief second of silence. No one speaking or moving. It was stillness in the dark. The mellow, soft sounds of their breathing was intact, but there was nothing else. Taking it in stride, Derek started to tug nonchalantly at the waistline of her pants, planting soft kisses on her neck as he tried to work his hands into her pants. Meredith slipped into a daze for a brief second as his soft, warm lips made contact with her skin, leaning back into his chest as his fingers started to dance. Then she realized he was right. If she didn't stop him, there was going to be sex, and she couldn't have that. She needed to stand her ground. _

_"Wait! There's no sex tonight!" she quickly swatted his hand away and wiggled out of his grasp. "I can't believe you tried to pull that. I can't even count how many rules you broke just then!" Derek smiled at her innocently through the darkness. _

_"Come on, I didn't do anything wrong. We weren't having sex," he pointed out. _

_"You should've taken the deal, Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said, scooting as far away from him as she could. _

_"Fine, I'll take the deal," Derek said with a smirk, pulling her back toward him. _

_"The deal is no longer on the table," Meredith informed him. "The deal was only if you told me where we were going." _

_"Well, I can tell you where I hope we're going," Derek murmured, bringing his lips closer to hers. "I don't believe your lips were mentioned in the no touching or kissing category." Meredith rolled her eyes and smiled slightly as their lips came in contact. After a few seconds of light, tender kisses, Derek made the kisses more urgent, slowly sliding his hand underneath her shirt. _

_"You really enjoy breaking the rules," Meredith mumbled into the kiss with a smile. _

_"I love it," Derek responded. And just as he was about to take it a little bit farther, there was an interruption. Meredith's cell phone rang, tearing through the darkness, and seemingly echoing obnoxiously._

_"Dammit," Derek mumbled, frustrated as he pulled his lips away from hers, still hovering over her. Meredith smiled slightly as she reached over to the table and grabbed her phone, flipping it open._

_"Hello...um, hi...this isn't a good time, okay?...I'll...no, I'll call you back...I promise...I promise!...Fine, whatever, I'll talk to you tomorrow," Meredith closed her phone and smiled up at Derek, kissing his lips quickly one last time as she slid out from underneath him and curled up to sleep. _

___Day 12..._

___"Good morning," Derek mumbled in a tired voice as he snuggled closer to Meredith and kissed her shoulder. _

_"Mm, what time is it?" Meredith asked in a voice that reflected his own._

_"Early," Derek said with a sigh, closing his eyes again. Meredith peeled her eyes opened and looked at the alarm clock in front of her. The room was still dark, no sunlight peeking through the blinds. The clock read 4:27 am. Meredith moaned as she closed her heavy eyelids again, turning around to face Derek. _

_"Why'd you wake me up?" she asked begrudgingly. _

_"I was hoping there might be a shot at some really early morning sex," Derek said with a yawn._

_"Get over yourself already. Sex is not in the cards for you. Or your ego," Meredith said with a slight smile. _

_"That was kind of harsh," Derek said, looking at her with a pouty face. Meredith laughed a little, swatting him lightly._

_"What could I ever do to make it up to you?" she joked back. Derek raised his eyebrows and smirked, looking at her seductively. Meredith rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're pathetic. Get your mind out of the gutter." _

_The door to the house opened suddenly, neither of the living room occupants having heard a key. They quickly stopped their erotic hustle to look at the person who entered. Meredith slid her keys into the slot formed to fit and turned it effortlessly, turning the knob and pushing the heavy door open. She turned to close the door, stopping dead in her tracks at the two people on her couch. _

_"Seriously," Meredith stated with a slight nod at the sight before her. "Wow. I didn't expect...this." _

_"Dr. Grey, could you please..." the man who was very much exposed with Cristina on top of him started, motion with his hand for her to leave._

_"Oh, right, yeah. I'm going...I just..." Meredith started._

_"Meredith!" Cristina exclaimed._

_"Right," Meredith said, quickly leaving the house again. She sighed as she pushed her back against the door, still trying to gather what'd she'd seen and push the image of Cristina and Dr. Burke out of her mind. And then she felt it. The steady, soft vibration in her pocket. She sighed regretfully as she pulled out the phone and looked at the name flashing across the screen. Before even reading it, she deleted the text message and started toward her car. Work, she was going into work. It seemed like the best option to get her mind off things. _

_It appeared that she was now permanently embedded in his mind. He had though that it was bad before, when they hated each other. But it was worse now. Much worse. He couldn't shake the image of her from his head. _

_"Work. Work'll work. Work always works," he said with a nod, starting down the stairs. Ever since she had left that morning, his thoughts had been eating at him. And work always seemed to distract his thoughts. Work would work. _

_"What are you doing here, I thought it was your day off," Dr. Bailey said as she approached Meredith._

_"Oh, yeah. It was...it is," Meredith said with a nod._

_"Well, what the hell are you...oh. Did Shepherd assign you to come in on your day off? Damn. He jut never stops, does he?" Dr. Bailey let out a sigh and shook her head._

_"Um...nope. I guess not," Meredith said with the most real fake smile she could form. "Um...I have to...so I'll see you later." Meredith said, walking backwards down the hall and pointing behind her back. _

_"See you, Dr. Grey," Dr. Bailey smiled. Meredith smiled back quickly before turning around and bumping right into a person dressed in dark blue scrubs._

_"Derek!" Margaret exclaimed, hugging her son and kissing his cheek as he walked over to her bed. _

_"Hey, mom. How are you doing today?" Derek asked, picking up her chart._

_"Goodness gracious, that's all you doctors do. Ask how I am and pick up my chart, whatever," Margaret rolled her eyes and sighed, grabbing her chart away. "I'm fine, son. Don't worry. Now, onto more personal things..." _

_"Ah, this is going to take a while," Derek concluded quickly, sitting in a chair beside her bed. _

_"Well, you knew it was going to happen," Margaret said with a grin._

_"That I did," Derek agreed with a nod. "So, what's it about this time? More Addison questions."_

_"Nope. A whole new set of questions. Meredith questions," His mom said with a nod and a smile._

_"Oh God," Derek leaned back in the chair, sighing deeply._

_"Oh yes. Just sex or is there more?" Margaret asked quickly._

_"What?!" Derek sprang back forward. _

_"You heard me. I mean, you and Mark are all about the booty calls, the one night stands, the wax to dip your wick in, or whatever, I get it. But, Derek, I like what I see of this girl. She has potential. All I'm saying is while she may seem like someone who's just good for a way of ejaculation..." Margaret started._

_"Oh God," Derek repeated, shaking his head. "I am...I'm not talking about my sex life, my love life, any other kind of life, or my ejaculation habits, thank you very much, with you." Margaret looked over at him and smiled innocently._

_"Son, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I didn't raise you to be a nun," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Derek shook his head as he stood up and smiled down at him mom._

_"I'll see you later, mom," he said, starting out of the room._

_"Just, hear me out!" Margaret called._

_"Goodbye," Derek said over his shoulder, his smile still intact. He shut the door and let out a slight chuckle as he started down the hall. He turned the corner to walk down to the surgery board and that's when he ran into her. He looked down at the scattered papers before he looked at her face to apologize._

_"What are you doing here?" he asked, slightly confused and shocked by her presence._

_Meredith looked up at the owner of the scrubs, seeing the person she least expected. The person who was most on her mind, who she was trying to get off her mind by being at the hospital in the first place, standing there looking back at her._

_"What are you doing here?" she asked. _

_"Hey, what are you two doing here?! You guys aren't scheduled for the day," the chief said with a grin as he walked up to the two that were looking at each other intensely. Meredith turned suddenly, as if tearing herself away from him in some inconvenient way._

_"Oh, me? um...I just came in to check on some...files," Meredith said, kneeling and grabbing her dropped papers quickly. _

_"Right, yes, of course. Me too," Derek said with a nod toward Richard._

_"Oh, well, since you're both here..." Richard started._

_"Actually, I'm not. I mean, I'm here, but I'm not. Because...I have to go...somewhere...now. So, I'm not," Meredith said with a quick smile before jetting off, feeling highly uncomfortable with being asked the inevitable. To do something with both her boss, who she was dating, and had slept with, and her boss's boss, who was also her boss, who was everybody's boss._

_"Okay, well, Derek..." Richard started, turning toward Derek. _

_"Yeah, I've got something, too," Derek rattled off as he started in the same direction Meredith had headed to._

_"Oh, well...yeah. Yeah, come to think of it, I do too, so I'll...I'll catch up with you later, Shep," Chief called, pointing behind him. "I'll just...I'll...oh, what the hell." He dropped his hands in dismissal and turned to walk to his office. _

_Meredith sat on the gurney in the hallway, her normal thinking spot. Her hang-out or whatever. They had a place like this is New York, her and her friends. They'd come to an abandoned hallway, that had all of the wheelchairs lined up in it, on their breaks and rant, or vent, or whatever. And this, was supposed to be her quiet time. But the person on her cell phone didn't agree. _

_"Hello," she said with a sigh as she flipped it open._

_"Mer! Hey, I haven't talked to you in a while, I was just calling to make sure you were alive. Sheesh, it seems like you'd make time to call. Anyway, how are things? Things here are great! I mean, they're always great, it;s great here. Crap! That was me putting pressure on yo to come home, I promised myself I wasn't going to do that. I mean, after all, it's your life, and I'm the coddler, I should be supportive, and I am...supportive, I mean..." Izzie started to ramble cheerily. Meredith smiled a little at her friend's familiar phone antics. Every time she called she was like this. Then she saw his figure coming down the hall and quickly interrupted._

_"Izzie, this isn't a good time. I'll call you back in a few," she said, closing the phone and watching as he walked down the hall. He smiled at her from the short distance, and she smiled back._

_"You freaked out a little bit," he said as he approached her, sitting next to her. _

_"He's the chief. You realize that, yes? He could fire me, he could fire you, for inappropriate conduct or whatever," Meredith let out quickly. _

_"And you don't think freaking out make it more obvious?" Derek asked with a grin. _

_"You weren't exactly helping, Dr. Shepherd," Meredith pointed out._

_"Very true," Derek agreed. "All in all though, he can't fire us. We make our own_

_choices...plus. It's not like we're, I don't know, having sex or anything."_

_"Would you get over that already," Meredith said with a smirk. _

_"I'm just saying," Derek said, throwing his hands in the air defensively. Meredith giggled a little and scooted a tiny bit closer._

_"You know, we don't have to have sex to have fun," she said with an angelic smile. _

_"Very good point," Derek said with a smirk. _

_"And I'm willing to bet a lot of money that my house is now sans Cristina and her date," Meredith continued, her smile changing from one end of the todum pole to the other. _

_"Meet you downstairs," Derek said casually, standing up and starting down the hall._

_"Mhm," Meredith said with a nod as she followed suite. _

_She could feel his 'excitement' poking into her hip as there at first 'fun' adventure advanced into something more heavy. She herself, couldn't deny the hot tingles and waves of desire she was feeling as their tongues intertwined and their lips locked fiercely. His hand slid under her shirt, going down from her breast, which had previously consumed it, to a different destination. He had just gotten her pants unbuttoned when it happened. A beep. An annoying one at that. One that was even more annoying than when it woke him from a deep sleep. He sighed impatiently into the kiss, fully planning to ignore the pager as he started to go back to getting her pants down._

_"Derek..." Meredith hesitantly pushed him away. "You need to answer your page."_

_"No I don't," Derek replied, starting to kiss her again._

_"Only, you do," Meredith said, pushing him away again. "You're a brain surgeon, you can't just ignore your pages." Derek sighed again, reaching down to his pager and taking it off of his belt. '911'. _

_"Damn, reality sucks," he said, regretfully and begrudgingly moving his body away from hers. "When I get back, we're picking up where we left off!" _

_"Hey, man. What's up...or do I even have to ask?" Mark started walking beside Derek, gesturing toward his very obvious erection._

_"It appears that someone paged me for 911, when in reality, there was no 911," Derek said, a very frustrated look on his face, not even caring about Mark's comment._

_"Oh, right, that was me," Mark said, taking a bite of his candy bar. "Ew. I had no clue this had nuts in it. Want the rest?"_

_"What?! You paged me 911 for no reason?" Derek asked, looking at Mark disbelievingly._

_"No. I'm not an idiot! There was a reason...I just can't remember what it was. Now, are you gonna eat this, cause if not I'm throwing it away," Mark said, holding up the chocolate. Derek glared at him slightly before turning and walking away._

_"Your loss!" Mark called, shrugging and finding a reciprocal for the candy bar. _

_"What the hell is wrong with you?" Meredith asked with a sigh as she read the text on the screen of her cell phone. She rolled her eyes and deleted the message, closing her phone and setting it on the coffee table, putting her heads in her hands. The door swung open and slammed closed in a matter of milliseconds. Meredith looked up quickly to see a very sexually frustrated Derek standing there. He pulled Meredith up quickly, pulling her to him and kissing her urgently, quickly placing his hands on the backs of her thighs and lifting her off the ground as he turned and pressed her against the wall, moving his lips down to her neck as his hands went to unbuttoning her jeans again._

_"What are you doing?" Meredith asked breathlessly, closing her eyes as he hit the sensitive spots on her neck. _

_"Picking up where we left off," Derek mumbled into her neck. _

_"Where we left off wasn't leading to this," she said with a smirk._

_"It is now," Derek stated. _

_"No it's not," Meredith said with a giggle as she pushed him away slightly and slipped off of his body. "We're not having sex." _

_"I just...can't believe it," Meredith said with a shrug. "I mean...you're sleeping with Burke!" Meredith exclaimed._

_"Okay, seriously, Meredith, Burke and I have been having meaningless sex since I was an intern. Would you hut up about it?" Cristina asked, getting off her chair and walking to the fridge._

_"Seriously?!" Meredith exclaimed, sliding off the counter and walking over to her. "Why didn't you tell me? And how do you know it's meaningless? Do you realize..."_

_"Enough with the third degree. At least I'm not in love with him," Cristina pointed out. "But, how can I compare myself with you in that aspect."_

_"What?! I am not in love with Burke," Meredith said, slightly confused about the turn their conversation had taken. _

_"I'm not talking about Burke. I was referring to Dr. Shepherd," Cristina explained._

_"Again, what? I'm so not in love with McDreamy...I'm not even dating McDreamy. I hate McDreamy, we hate each other," Meredith lied._

_"Really? Because you just called him 'McDreamy' three times," Cristina said with raised eyebrows._

_"Okay, Shepherd and I, are not togeth...you know, we're not talking about me here!" Meredith said._

_"Well..." Cristina started. And then it interrupted her. The ringing cell phone._

_"Oh, of course," Meredith said, rolling her eyes as she walked over and rejected the call. _

_"You're not answering it?" Cristina asked._

_"No," Meredith answered quickly._

_"You know, Izzie bitched me out today for you hanging up on her," Cristina informed Meredith._

_"I did not hang up on...it wasn't...it's not Izzie, I didn't hang up on her...wait, where were we?" Meredith asked, trying to get back on topic._

_"Oh, um, I was just about to say 'At least I only sleep with one man, you're a whore!' then you were gonna storm out," Cristina said with a nod._

_"Okay," Meredith agreed, grabbing her cell phone and walking in front of Cristina._

_"At least I only sleep with one man! You're a whore!" Cristina exclaimed. Meredith let out an exasperated gasp and looked at Cristina, feigning shock._

_"I can't believe you!" she called, storming out of the room. _

_"I see you got rid of...it," Mark said, looking up at Derek as he walked in._

_"Yes. With a cold shower. Which, I'm very bitter about, by the way," Derek informed him as he walked into the living room and put his kitchen and put his keys on the rack. He looked at the blinking light on the answering machine, which read '104'. Neither he, nor Mark had checked the messages in months, maybe even a year. He shrugged slightly and disregarded the insistent blinking as he left the kitchen and climbed the stairs to his bedroom in search of a peaceful sleep that would send him into oblivion from the rest of the world. From the thoughts of Meredith. And hopefully from the thoughts of the sex he wasn't getting. _

___Day 13..._

_"Dr. Grey, your phone has been ringing off the hook all morning," Derek said, looking over at Meredith as she rejected yet another call._

_"Um...yeah, I know," Meredith said, nodding her head._

_"Who's been trying to get a hold of you? What if it's important?" Derek asked. _

_"Um, no one, and, it's not," Meredith said, increasing pace toward their destination. "We have patients to see, no more chit chat, or whatever," Meredith said, pushing the door open and stepping inside. Derek sighed as he followed her into the room that had become much more familiar over the past few days. His mom, dad, and sister had left the night before, and now, a new admittance occupied room number 1173. _

_"Okay..." Derek said, looking at her slightly suspiciously. He took the chart she was holding out toward him and looked over it quickly. _

_"Mr. Johnson," he said, smiling at the patient, "I'm Dr. Shepherd, this is Dr. Grey, we'll be working on your case." He went back to reading the chart, flipping through the pages quickly. _

_"Yeah, I've already met her," the old man in the bed said with a grin. "You're very lucky, Dr. Shepherd, to have such a beautiful woman to look at all day." Meredith smiled slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment. Derek looked back up from the chart, looking over at Meredith and smiling, then back at Mr. Johnson._

_"Yes. Very lucky," he agreed. _

_"Must you make it so obvious?" Meredith asked, as they stepped out of the room._

_"What are you talking about?" Derek asked with a smile._

_"I'm talking about the 'yes, very lucky', and the looks, and the discreet touching," Meredith said, looking up at Derek as she leaned forward on the nurses station. _

_"At least I was discreet," Derek said with a smirk. "You said it yourself. Plus, I can't help it that you're so touchable." Meredith smiled a little, rolling her eyes. _

_"Wow, the ultimate compliment," she said sarcastically. "Can you get any more charming?"_

_"I am pretty charming," Derek agreed with a nod. _

_"Get over yourself already. What are we going to do about the patient?" Meredith asked. _

_"Well, we could kill him so he doesn't tell anyone. But, I really don't want to go to prison," Derek smirked._

_"That's not what I mean," Meredith said, "You know what I mean. How do you want to proceed?"_

_"Ah, that's what you want to know. Run a CT, MRI, and another set of labs. Come find me when they're finished so we can look over them," Derek said, signing a form and slipping the pen back into his lab coat pocket. _

_"Alright," Meredith said, taking the chart from him._

_"Thank you," Derek said, walking off. Meredith watched him walk away and smiled slightly to herself, turning to walk back to the patient's room, stopping dead in her tracks as she saw the one person she most definitely didn't expect. She looked on for a split second at them before quickly turning and slipping into the room. _

_"Where've you been hiding?" Cristina asked, munching on a mouthful of chips as she sat next to Meredith on 'their' gurney. _

_"Hiding? I haven't been hiding," Meredith said quickly, looking up from the scan results._

_"McDreamy been harassing you again? Or was the sex on his desk so bad that you just couldn't stand to see him? Is Shepherd having troubles performing?" Cristina asked, emitting a small laugh._

_"Derek and I are not sleeping together!" Meredith insisted, throwing her hands in the air._

_"Alright, if it's not Shepherd, what is it?" Cristina asked curiously. _

_"You'll be supportive? You'll sympathize? No smart-ass comments, or 'good-luck-with-that's'?" Meredith asked, looking at Cristina almost pleadingly. _

_"Why not," Cristina shrugged. Meredith looked at her skeptically. "Alright, this is me being supportive. I'm totally supportive. Alright, go. I'm supportive." _

_"Someone show up today. Here, at the hospital..." Meredith said._

_"Does this have anything to do with the mysterious yelling match phone calls, and secret texts?" Cristina asked. Meredith nodded and sighed. "So, who showed up? Is it Chad?!" _

_"Think bigger," Meredith said._

_"What could be bigger than a fiance?" Cristina asked with a smirk._

_"Ex-fiance! I broke it off when I left, okay. I'd appreciate it if you didn't start telling people that I'm engaged," Meredith said._

_"Why? Don't want it to get around?" Cristina asked._

_"Precisely. Now, think like...six times worse than Chad. Okay, actually, not six. Maybe...two and half time worse," Meredith said. Cristina looked as if she were deep in thought before a look of realization came over her face and her eyes got wide._

_"No way," she said._

_"Way," Meredith said with a nod._

_"Oh, this is going to be good. This is going to be so good," she said with a slight chuckle._

_"That's not supportive," Meredith pointed out with an accusatory finger._

_Richard Webber was usually a very calm and collective man. He always kept his cool. He was the job. Nothing got to him, nothing, nothing, made him do a double take. Until that day. That day that there was a knock on the door and she stepped in. That sight, definitely made him do a double take._

_"Ellis?!" he asked, as if to be sure about what made him do a double take._

_"Richard," she said with a smile, opening her arms for a hug. Richard stood immediately and wrapped his arms around her. _

_"What are you doing here?" he asked, pushing her back from the embrace, as if to get a better look. _

_"I actually came to see Meredith," Ellis said with a sigh, making herself comfortable in one of the chairs near Richard's desk._

_"Meredith? I thought you two weren't talking..." he started._

_"We're not...we weren't. But, I've come to make amends...and maybe cause just a little bit of trouble," Ellis said with a smile. _

_"Where've you been hiding?" Derek asked, looking up as he door opened and swung quickly closed. Meredith looked around the office quickly, checking under the desk, looking back through the blinds of the window and closing them quickly, then locking the door._

_"I wish people would stop asking me that! I'm not hiding!" she said as she searched the remainder of the room. _

_"What are you doing?" Derek asked, looking at her, confused._

_"I'm making sure the coast is clear," Meredith replied, glancing at the windows one last time._

_"What? Are we having sex?!" Derek asked, a sight excitement apparent in his voice. _

_"No," Meredith said with a slight glare, handing him the results to Mr. Johnson's tests. "We're just hiding...well, I'm just hiding."_

_"But you just said you weren't hiding," Derek said as he pulled the results out of the large envelopes. _

_"Yeah...I know...I'm just...forget it. I am hiding," Meredith confirmed with a nod._

_"What are you hiding from?" Derek asked curiously._

_"The cookie monster. Are you going to look at the results or not?" Meredith asked with a sigh._

_"I'm getting there. God you're impatient," Derek said, holding the results up to the light and looking over them. _

_"I am not impatient," Meredith said, rolling her eyes. _

_"You're just impatient," Richard said, looking down at the obviously frustrated and angry Ellis. _

_"I am no impatient. You said she was on today, Richard. I've looked everywhere for her. Where could that girl be?!" Ellis exclaimed. _

_"I don't know," Richard said with a shrug. "Maybe you should just find her after her shift."_

_"Alright," Ellis heaved a deep sigh. "I suppose that's a fine option. I'll go wait at the house for her."_

_"Okay, Ellis," Richard nodded with a smile. It was a rekindled smile. A smile that hadn't really appeared on his face for years...since the last time he'd seen Ellis. She shot back a similar smile, and they stood, looking at each other for a moment with the reminiscent smiles. _

_"Thank you for the help, Richard. I'll see you around," Ellis finally said as she turned to leave. _

_"Yeah, yeah I suppose," Richard said, watching her walk away. "You know, tomorrow would be a good night for me to go out and catch up. Would you be interested?" _

_"Of course," Ellis answered, turning around and graciously accepting his invitation. _

_Meredith opened the door and peeked around outside in the hallway, making sure her mom was no where in sight before she walked out of the office with a relieved sigh. _

_"We'll schedule the surgery for tomorrow," Derek said, walking out behind her. _

_"Alright," Meredith agreed with a nod. She turned and took the results from Derek. Looking up at him, they gazed at each other in silence, before Meredith flashed a quick smile. _

_"I'll see you tomorrow, Dr. Shepherd," she said with a nod, turning and starting to walk off toward the locker room. Her full intention was to go home and get some sleep. _

_"You know, I think it's about time for a second date," Derek said, lightly grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving and pulling her back to him. He smirked down at her slightly. _

_"Is that a question?" Meredith asked. _

_"I could make it one. But I really don't have to. I'm pretty confident you're already in love with me, so..." he started._

_"What makes you think I'd want to go out with you?" Meredith interrupted. _

_"Because I'm McDreamy," Derek answered with a charming, all-knowing grin._

_"I hate you," Meredith said quickly._

_"You love me," Derek responded. _

_"Tomorrow night. Pick me up, and make reservations for someplace nice," Meredith said, turning her body and looking up at him. _

_"Alright," Derek said with a grin, stepping slightly closer. "I'll see you tomorrow, Dr. Grey." And he walked off down the hall, toward the patients' rooms. Meredith smiled at his retreating form. She shook her head slightly and laughed a little as she turned and started back in her previous direction toward the locker rooms. _

_"Who are you?" Ellis asked quickly, looking at the Asian girl who had just walked onto her front porch. The girl jumped slightly, the keys in her hands rattling as she looked over at Ellis, who was sitting on the swing with her arms crossed and with a stern look on her face. _

_"Damn, you scared me," the girl said, slightly angrily. "I'm Cristina. Cristina Yang." The girl said, almost expectantly, with raised eyebrows. _

_"Yes, and who are you?" Ellis repeated. _

_"Cristina Yang!" the girl exclaimed again. _

_"I know your name, I just don't realize who you are to me. What are you doing at my house?" Ellis asked. _

_"Mom?!" Meredith exclaimed, walking up on the porch and looking at her mother, shocked. "What are you doing here?"_

_"It is my house, Meredith," Ellis said with a smirk, stepping forward and grabbing Cristina's keys, opening the door and stepping inside. "We'll discuss this in the morning. Good night." _

_Meredith lied in the smallest bedroom at the end of the hall, hearing the rain beating on the roof above her head, sliding down the window behind her. Her mother wanted her room back. Meredith had made sure not to say two words to Ellis. Ever since their last blow up, she had made a vow to not talk to her. And now, she'd have to set an alarm to make sure she got up before her mom, so she could leave and not have to talk to her. Not that she would get any sleep anyway on the hard, lumpy, twin-sized mattress. She sighed as she sat up in bed and slammed her hands down on the mattress. She could go sleep with Cristina, but she kicked in her sleep, and bruises was not something Meredith like to wake up to. She sighed as one thing she could do slipped into her mind. _

_It was luck that must have been on her side-or was it fate...or were they the same thing-because when she pulled up to the house, that seemed familiar, yet at the same time wasn't, he was just pulling up as well. He got out of his car and stepped into the pelting rain, that seemed to be falling harder than before. Hell, it had been less than a half an hour before that the sky seemed clear and cloudless. _

_"Hey," she called, getting out of her house as well. _

_"Hey," he said, squinting through the rain to make out her form. Meredith ran up to the front porch, into the dryness, where he was standing. He hadn't noticed her car when he pulled up. _

_"So, I'm still in hiding, and I need a place to stay," she said with a smile. Derek shook his head and laughed lightly. _

_"Need money for a hotel?" he asked with a smirk._

_"You know what I'm asking," Meredith said, returning his smirk. _

_"Fine, you can stay," Derek said, heaving a fake sigh. He walked up to the door and slid his key in, pushing the door open and motioning for her to come inside. _


	4. Chapter 4

___I have had an extended absence, lol. I know. This has become a common occurrence in my new found busy life. I apologize. Thank you soooooo much for all the wonderful reviews! They definitely make my day and keep me writing. I'm sorry about the nothing to separate the scene thing. I know, it seems jumpy and there's nothing I put in between scenes, but when I do put something to separate, it messes up the whole file. So, I'm terribly sorry, but there's nothing I can do. Now, the good thing about long absences (or it may be a bad thing?) is that when I finally do post, there is a LOT to read! I hope you enjoy this, if you love it, review, if you hate it, review. On with it! _

___Day 14..._

___Meredith pulled the covers up carefully, trying to slip out of bed as discreetly as possible. Derek was asleep next to her, and she didn't want to wake him. He even looks McDreamy when he sleeps, she thought. _

_"Don't go," Derek mumbled, tugging her gently back into him. _

_"I have to go," Meredith said with a smile, turning in his arms and facing him. "I have to work."_

_"No you don't," Derek said, his eyes remaining closed. "I'm your boss. I'm not making you go to work today."_

_"Technically, Dr. Webber is my boss. Because he's your boss, and therefore, he decides rather I come or not," Meredith pointed out. _

_"Very small technicality," Derek said, opening his eyes and smiling at her. Meredith rolled her eyes slightly, trying to not let his smile and eyes effect her. Something about the look that he was giving her at that moment made her want to give in and just lie in bed with him all day long, especially considering the fact that it offered a wonderful opportunity to hide from her mother all day. She changed her gaze, focusing on the clock behind him rather than his eyes, smile, and overall facial expression. _

_"We're late," she said with a sigh._

_"See! We're already late, no point in getting up now," Derek said with a smirk._

_Finally, after a lot of debating, kissing, and trying to coax, Meredith convinced Derek that they had to go in to the hospital. Only under the agreement, though, that Derek was allowed to drive her in, and kiss, touch, or throw flirty glances at her wherever and whenever in the hospital he wanted to. Meredith regretfully agreed and they finally settled on a compromise. _

_"This opportunity won't rise very often, so don't count on this ever happening again," Meredith warned._

_"I know, which is why I plan to take full advantage of it," Derek said with a smirk as he pulled her in and kissed her quickly. _

_"And try not to do it too often...and don't make it too obvious. Try to do it when no one will see," Meredith said._

_"Doesn't that defeat the purpose?" Derek asked with a smirk._

_"Maybe," Meredith said with a shrug. "You tell me." Meredith grinned at him as she stepped out of the elevator and went into the direction of her locker room. Derek smiled back at her, shaking his head as he started in the opposite direction. _

_Ellis Grey woke up that morning and searched for her daughter. All through the house, though, Meredith was no where. She went downstairs to see the Asian girl from the night before, who's name she felt no need to remember, sitting at the kitchen counter and drinking a cup of coffee. _

_"Do you know where Meredith is?" Ellis asked quickly, getting straight to the point._

_"Probably at a strange man's house," Cristina mumbled. Ellis rolled her eyes._

_"Dammit, Meredith. I suppose I'll just have to go to the damn hospital again today," Ellis said, turning and leaving the kitchen. _

_"Wait! Dr. Grey, could I have my keys back?" Cristina jumped from her chair and ran after Ellis. Ellis heaved another sigh, rolling her eyes again. She pulled the keys out of her pocket, sliding off the house key, and gave the ring back to Cristina. _

_"There," she said, turning again and finishing her way out. She had waited at the hospital for what seemed like an eternity, waiting, waiting, waiting. She sat behind the nurses station, reading over some cases and waiting impatiently. She heard the annoying elevator ding for about the thousandth time, and even though she thought Meredith wouldn't be there anyway, she lifted her eyes. And this time, her lack of hope gifted her with the presence of her daughter. She saw her kiss the man who was supposedly her 'boss' Dr. Shepherd. They exchanged a few words, then both exited the elevator smiling. Ellis glared at the sight slightly before hopping out of her chair and running after Dr. Shepherd._

_"Dr. Shepherd," she called as she neared him. He turned around and looked at her for a brief moment._

_"Ellis Grey? Dr. Grey?" he asked, slightly shocked. _

_"Yes, you're my daughter's boss, I believe," Ellis said with raised eyebrows, stopping in front of him and crossing her arms._

_"Yes," Derek confirmed with a nod. _

_"And I understand you're also romantic with her," Ellis concluded quickly._

_"I..." Derek started._

_"Dr. Shepherd, are you aware that my daughter is engaged?" Ellis interrupted. _

_"Hey, you left early this morning," Cristina said, rushing into the locker room to get ready. _

_"Actually, I left late last night. But, okay," Meredith shrugged._

_"Late last night?" Cristina asked, confused, temporarily stopping her rush to get out of the locker room and find surgeries. _

_"Uh...yeah," Meredith said, silently cursing herself herself. She hadn't planned on telling Cristina anything at all until, and if, her relationship with Derek got serious. "I uh, slept here. The mattress in the extra room was lumpy and hard."_

_"So you came to sleep in a hospital's on-call bed? Don't you find that to be an oxy moron of sorts?" Cristina looked unconvinced._

_"Um...W...What's with the third degree?" Meredith asked quickly. _

_"No third degree, just asking innocent questions. Why are you getting so defensive?" Cristina closed her locker and pulled on her lab coat quickly, crossing her arms as she finished getting dressed. _

_"I'm not defensive...just innocently denying any future accusations," Meredith said with a quick nod. _

_"Alright then," Cristina said, starting out of the locker room._

_"Alright," Meredith agreed, following quickly behind. _

_"Engaged?" Derek repeated inquiringly. _

_"Yes, you heard correctly," Ellis assured with a tight nod of her head. _

_"I find that a little hard to believe..." Derek started._

_"And I find it hard to believe that any daughter of mine would sleep with her boss, but it's true. Hard to grasp, yes, hard to believe, no. I can assure you, Dr. Shepherd, that my daughter is very much promised Chadley Sullivan. Maybe if it's so hard to believe, you should confront her about it. I'm only warning you to not get in over your head here. And I urge you to take my advice," Ellis looked up at him for a brief moment longer, her lips pursed together tightly. "It was nice meeting you." And with that, she turned and stormed away, still in a very composed, and confident way. Derek watched as she walked away, pondering her words. This couldn't be true, right? Meredith wouldn't be in any kind of relationship with him if this were true, right? Right? _

_He seemed slightly hostile toward her. He wasn't himself the whole day through. He was cold toward her, he was tense, he didn't care to stick to his part of the 'agreement', he seemed unfocused in surgery. Everything. He didn't seem like Derek. He didn't seem like the man she had known for the past two weeks. _

_"__Are you okay?" she asked as they scrubbed out of Mr. Johnson's surgery. _

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" he asked, drying his hands and refusing to make eye contact with her.

"You just...don't seem okay. You're not yourself," Meredith said with a shrug. "You know? You just don't seem okay." Derek looked up at her and flashed a small smile.

"Let's talk about it later, okay?" he said. He felt slightly nauseated. It bothered him a lot, the though of her being engaged, with another man. It's not like they're relationship was too serious or anything, and he still hadn't decided how much he wanted to believe what her mother had told him, how much he really thought there was a possibility that she was committed to another man, but it still bothered him. He wasn't going to confront her about it until he made a decision, though, especially not in the hospital.

"Okay," Meredith agreed, smiling back at him.

"Okay. I'll meet you downstairs," Derek said as he passed her to leave the scrub room. Meredith turned and followed suite.

"What's wrong, dude?" Mark asked, breaking the silence in the elevator. Derek looked up at Mark, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," Derek said. "Trying to make a decision."

"It's Meredith isn't it?" Mark asked knowingly.

"It regards Meredith," Derek said with a nod.

"I'm telling you, I have a fourth sense about these things! I'm a genius. So, what is it? Is she married or something like that?" he asked with a grin spread ear to ear.

"Something like that," Derek answered with a chuckle. The elevator dinged and the doors spread open, Derek feeling slightly better than a few seconds before. Mark never failed at making his day a little shiner. He removed his leaning frame from the back wall and stepped out of the elevator. "And by the way, you have seven senses, Mark."

She drove home, hoping that her mother wouldn't be there. Derek said the reservations were for eight, giving her about an hour to shower and get ready. She didn't have time to deal with the wicked witch of the west. Hey, alliteration, she thought, laughing slightly. She pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, walking up to the apparently empty house. No lights were on, no cars in the driveway. She heaved a giant dildo and then he had a sigh of relief and slid out of the car, walking quickly up to the house as the subtle darkness sent an eerie chill through her. Not that it was pitch black, but with no one around, it felt creepy. She slid her key into the doorknob and turned it quickly, stepping into the house and closing the door behind her. She secured the lock again and placed her keys on the table, quickly starting up the stairs and to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and blew her hair dry and curled it loosely, pulling it halfway back. She applied some light make-up and excitedly walked back to her bedroom to get her dress. She had bought it years ago, and had only worn it once to a very fancy restaurant in New York with Cristina. She pulled it out of her closet carefully and looked at it with a smile. She remember the day that her grandma had told her to always have a little black dress for sudden events. She, however, had defied the laws of nature and bought a little white dress. She like white. It was pure, clean. Crisp, classic, whatever. She slipped the dress on and put on her high heels, which she hated, because they were too high. But they were her favorite with the dress, so she wore them. She stood up, admiring herself slightly in the mirror, but at the same time, criticizing herself for how she could look better. When it hit her. She had no idea why she was so giddy, why she was worried about her appearance. It was a new thing to her. If she'd gone on a date before, her date would have been lucky if she was wearing a clean shirt and her hair wasn't tied back in a tangled, messy bun.

"God, what is it about him?" she wondered out loud, looking at her reflection inquiringly.

The sound of the doorbell rang an echo through the empty house. Meredith sighed, slightly nervously as she started toward the door quickly, grabbing her purse. What the hell? What is wrong with me? She challenged her mind with the question. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, smiling at Derek instantly.

"Hey," she said.

Derek rang the doorbell and showed his hands back into the pocket of his pants, exhaling a gust of air. He had made his decision to bring up the 'fiance'. Not that he fully believed Ellis's mentioning of it, but he wanted to get it out of the way, make sure the coast was clear or whatever. But as the door opened, and he saw her standing there, any fragment of any doubt that he had in any advancing of their relationship shot out the window. She looked better than beautiful. And his biased opinion on the truth came into play.

"Hey," he replied with a smile. "You look...really stunning." He said, staring her up and down intensely. He stepped forward, pulling her tiny frame into his body and wrapping his arms around her waist as he leaned down and kissed her; softly, tenderly, and passion-filled. It was the perfect kiss, in anyone's eyes. Cristina even probably would have melted over it.

"Um...thanks," Meredith said breathlessly as the pair came up for air.

"It was my pleasure," Derek returned with a small grin. He held his hand out to her, and she graciously accepted it, pulling the door closed as they walked out to his car.

They stepped into the restaurant and immediately it was unambiguous how expensive it was. Linen table clothes, waiters wearing thousand-dollar tuxedos, you could peg that the cheapest meal on their menu was probably two-hundred dollars down to the tee. Meredith looked up at Derek with one raised eyebrow, receiving a grin and a sheepish shrug in return.

"May I help you?" a kind looking girl asked with a smile. She was wearing a very tight black dress and sparkly high-really, really-high heels to match, her hair pulled in a tight bun to show off the strappy back of the dress.

"We have reservations," Derek told her, stepping forward and placing his hand on the small of Meredith's back to guide her with him.

"Under what name?" she asked.

"Shepherd/Grey," Derek answered as the waitress quickly skimmed down the list with her finger, pulling out a highlighter and crossing their name off.

"Right this way," she said, her false smile returning as she grabbed two menus and led them through the restaurant. "Your server will be with you in a moment."

"Thank you," Derek nodded to the hostess as she walked away. Meredith picked up her menu and quickly skimmed over the prices.

"Derek. This is really expensive," she concluded with raised eyebrows.

"You said to make reservations for some place nice," Derek said with a shrug.

"Nice does not equal expensive," Meredith protested.

"Well, if you want I can take you to the nearest McDonald's," Derek said with a smirk.

"McDonald's isn't nice," Meredith argued.

"It's also not expensive," Derek pointed out. "I rest my case."

"Point well taken," Meredith said with a grin, shaking her head as she turned her attention back to the menu.

"Hi, I'm Mindy. I'll be your server this evening. Would you two like to start with one of our delicious apéritifs or a bottle of one of our wines? We have a fine selection," a woman who looked exactly like the first one said with the same overly-large grin.

"Um, no, no wine for me," Meredith said quickly with a smile. "I'll just have a Coke."

"And for you, sir?" the waitress jotted in her pad and turned to Derek, the smile never leaving her fake-tanned face.

"I'll have the same," Derek said, slightly confused.

"Great. I'll be back in a moment with your beverages," the waitress walked off.

"No wine?" Derek asked, looking back at his menu.

"No wine. Because when I have wine, or tequila, or any type of alcohol for that matter, I end up drinking enough to get at least slightly buzzed. And when I'm even slightly buzzed things start to get a little hot and everything starts to look a little porny, and then I end up naked in somebody's bed," Meredith said in one big breath.

"And that would be a bad thing?" Derek asked after a small moment's silence.

"Yes, it would be a bad thing. A very bad thing. We are not having sex. So a bad thing? Yes, it would be a bad thing," Meredith assured them both with a nod.

"Okay, no wine," Derek said with a shrug.

He fumbled with his keys, finding it difficult to get the metal shape into it's slot while kissing Meredith. One hand was wrapped firmly around her waist, holding her to him, the other occupied with the keys. His lips, however, were on hers, as well as his tongue. They were fully enthralled in the heated kiss when he finally pushed the door open and they fell inside. As the door unexpectedly flew open and they fell to the floor, Meredith let out a slight scream before busting out into a laughing fit along with Derek.

"And we didn't even have any wine," Derek said, rolling over onto his back and taking a deep breath.

"See, you have ways to ploy me without alcohol," Meredith said with a smile, starting to get up.

"Hey," Derek said, pulling her back down and grinning at her. "The floors are very sturdy and hardwood. No rug burn."

"Well, that's a very interesting way of pitching the idea," Meredith said with her own grin. "If we hadn't fallen, you probably would have had me in your bedroom right now. It's a good thing the door opened."

"Good thing how?" Derek asked, looking at her confused.

"No sex, remember?" Meredith said, patting his knee as she stood up.

"Believe me, I remember. All of me remembers," Derek said with a sarcastic smile as he stood up as well.

"Aw," Meredith said, kissing him again and quickly pulling back, patting his face. "Well, suck it up. It won't be too much longer."

_Day 15..._

"Meredith, I want to talk to you," Mark said, motioning for the stool next to him.

"Okay," Meredith said, slightly confused as she finished pouring her cup of coffee and sat at the stool.

"Now, I want you to know that I'm Derek's best friend. It is in my best interest to look out for his best interest which affects and is affected by your best interest," Mark said, looking lost by his own words. Meredith squinted at him a little.

"Confuse yourself, Mark?" she asked.

"Only a little," Mark said, still trying to figure out what he had said. Meredith smiled and let a small laugh escaped her lips.

"You were saying?" she urged him to go on.

"Right...um...Derek. Listen, I don't want to be blunt here, but he's my best friend. I'm required to give the best friend speech thing to any potential serious relationships. Normally, mine would consist of: Show me your boobs. If they're nice, you pass, if they're not, sorry. But today I have something more important to discuss with you," Mark said slowly and seriously, choosing his words carefully.

"And that is?" Meredith asked, sipping her coffee.

"My friend needs sex, Meredith," Mark said, leaning back in the stool. Meredith practically spit out her coffee. She set her cup down quickly and swallowed her mouthful.

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me. I'm trying to help here. Fact of the matter is, Derek needs sex. You have to give it to him. That's all there is to it," Mark concluded, throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay, we are not doing the best friend talk, or any kind of talk, regarding my sex life with your buddy, okay? Prepare another speech, we'll talk then," Meredith said, shaking her head and smiling. Mark heaved a sigh and leaned on the counter.

"Alright. Then, I guess you'll have to show me your boobs," he said with a shrug.

"Not happening," Meredith said, walking out of the room.

"Dammit," Mark mumbled. "Where are you going?"

"To take a shower," Meredith called, climbing the stairs.

"Need some company?" Mark asked, leaning his stool back and grinning at her. Meredith looked over the stairway banister.

"Also not happening," she said with her own grin.

Derek woke up hearing the shower running. He buried his head into his pillow with a content smile taking over his features. He loved it when Meredith stayed. He loved to wake up with her there. And this time, she was in his shower. In his shower, naked. Naked, in his shower, lathering her self with soap. He sat up quickly and sighed, trying to get images of Meredith, naked, in his shower, lathering herself with soap, out of his head before he needed a shower of his own.

"Dead puppies...fungus...athletes foot...come on," he tried to think, closing his eyes tightly and imagining. "Mark naked!" He opened his eyes and a smile took over his lips. "There is it." He got out of bed and walked downstairs, pouring a cup of coffee and grabbing the paper out of Mark's hands.

"I was reading that," Mark called after him.

"No you weren't. You were just pretending to so you could look smart. Find a Penthouse," Derek said with a grin as he started back up the stairs. Mark shrugged and chuckled slightly.

"You know me all too well," he said with a sigh as he opened the cupboard door and pulled out one of his magazines from the large stack. Derek walked up and went into his bedroom, finding Meredith pulling on her last article of clothing. Her hair was dripping wet, and clinging to her features, leaving droplets of water on her shirt. She turned and smiled at Derek.

"Good morning," she said. Derek smiled softly back at her.

"Morning," he said. He studied her for a few more seconds before his smile dropped slowly, realizing that he still had that thing to bring up. He still had to confront her about her so-called fiance.

"Are you okay?" Meredith asked, her smile fading slightly as she looked at him, concerned.

"I need to talk to you about something," Derek said with a sigh, not wanting to do this. He knew it wasn't true, of course, it couldn't be. But he had to get it cleared up. He was just worried about how she'd react.

"Okay, I'm listening," Meredith said, waiting for him to talk.

"Chadley Sullivan," Derek said softly.

"Chad?" Meredith repeated in the same low tone, everything on her face dropping and changing to apparent regret and worry. "I'm...Derek, listen, he's not...we're not...it's not like." She started to quickly fumble over her words, not knowing what exactly to say. Derek straightened up in the doorway quickly.

"So you do know him? He is your fiance?" he asked, feeling a mixture of emotions sweep over him. "Were you going to tell me?"

"Derek, I was...I mean, we..." Meredith stumbled again.

"Okay," Derek sighed, shaking his head as he turned to leave the room.

"Derek," Meredith started after him.

"You know..." Derek ran a hand through his hair quickly and shrugged, "Don't." And he turned and left the room.

"Hey, what's going on? Derek just stormed out of here," Mark said, sitting at his permanent place at the counter.

"I need a ride home," Meredith said quickly. "Will you take me?"

"Yeah I'll take you for a ride," Mark said with a smirk, standing up. Meredith laughed a tiny bit before sighing.

"Today isn't the day, Dr. Sloane," she said, starting out the door. Mark shrugged, looking confused as he followed her, grabbing his keys on his way out.

"Meredith didn't sleep at home again last night, do you know anything about that?" Ellis interrogated quickly as she walked into the kitchen and crossed her arms, her ever stern look on her face.

"Actually, I don't," Cristina assured with a nod as she started out of the room. If she'd learned anything over the last few days, it was why Meredith hated her mom so much. Ellis took a step to the side, blocking Cristina's way.

"Only, I think you do," she said, glaring at Cristina.

"But I don't. I have been extremely patient with you here the last few days, and I refuse to put up with your condescending crap anymore. Step aside, you old sea hag," Cristina said, venom in her calm voice. Ellis looked a little shocked before finally stepping aside and letting Cristina walk through.

"Your mommy is looking for you," Cristina said in a mock baby voice as she walked past the front door that had just opened to reveal Meredith. Meredith rolled her eyes and slammed the door, quickly walking to the kitchen.

"How dare you?!" she exclaimed, glaring at Ellis.

"Oh good, you're home," Ellis said, pouring a cup of coffee and taking a sip.

"Why did you do it?" Meredith asked quickly.

"Meredith, he is your boss, you barely know him, and he had to know the truth. He seemed like a good enough guy. And even though it is obvious he has no morals, I thought he'd like to know that he was sleeping with an engaged woman," Ellis answered with a shrug.

"Only I'm not engaged. You haven't talked to me in months you have no idea what has happened in my life, and you had no right..." Meredith started.

"Don't take that tone with me, I'm your mother," Ellis said simply.

"See, there's where you're wrong. Mothers are supposed to be loyal to their daughters. They're not supposed to say hurtful things. And they're definitely not supposed to wreck the first happiness they've truly had in a very long time. I don't have one of those," Meredith said, looking at Ellis angrily.

"Meredith! I cannot believe you just said that to me! I have been the best damn mother to you, and you are the one who is out of line! You have no right to say these things to me!" Ellis exclaimed, placing her hand on her chest.

"You know what, fuck you. You're right, you're my mother, I shouldn't say it, but fuck you. Get out of my house, and go to hell," Meredith said, turning and storming out of the kitchen. She was actually surprised at herself. She had never spoken to her mother like that, and she swore to herself, no matter how bad it was, she would never swear at her mom, or say those things to her. But there she was, saying them, as if she couldn't control her own tongue. She grabbed her keys and went out to her car, planning on going to one person she thought she never would. The one person she thought she'd never turn to.

Thatcher Grey rambled when he was nervous. He figured it was something inherited. Though, of course, he knew behavioral characteristics were learned, he seemed to follow in the footsteps of his mother. Who followed in the footsteps of her mother. Who followed in the footsteps of her father. And so on and so fourth. So, to one who hadn't studied biology, it would seem, that the nervous stutter was inherited. Of course, he didn't know if his daughter had gotten it. He hadn't seen her for over twenty-five years. Ever since the day Ellis took her away. A few years after she had left, he went on to marry a woman that he was madly in love with. She was nice, beautiful, intelligent. But she was unable to have children. So, the only thing Thatcher had to hope on was his long-lost-distant-daughter. But, he had given up hope on that a long time ago. So, maybe he didn't have anything to hope on after all. She was not in his thoughts that morning, when he was reading the paper and sipping his coffee. She was not in his thoughts that morning, when the sound of the doorbell echoed through the warm house. And she was not in his thoughts that morning when he set down his forkful of eggs and stood up to answer the door.

"I'll get it," He smiled at Susan, his wife, as he made his way out of the kitchen. He walked through the bright, peach colored living room and pulled open the heavy wooden door. And his smile dropped. Because right there, in front of him, stood the hope that he'd given up hope on.

"So...Meredith...um...well, it's been a while...I guess. I mean, twenty years is a while...but...um, so. I'm just a little..." Thatched mumbled, stuttering his words as he sat next to his daughter on the couch. "...Um...can I get you anything? To drink? Or maybe your hungry? Um...bathroom is down the hall and to the left. So, if you need to..." Meredith looked across at her dad...Thatcher...looked across at Thatcher, biting her lips as she tried to decide exactly what she wanted to say. Making the decision to confide in him was rash, quick. But, she was there, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"No, I'm fine. I don't need to use the bathroom, or anything," she said, shaking her head. "Listen, I didn't really come here to talk about our past or anything, okay? I just...I need someone to help me fix this...mess...I'm in. And, normally, I'd talk to Cristina, because she's harsh and bitter and what-not, but I can't go to Cristina, because Cristina doesn't even know that I'm with...or, was with Derek...and you don't know either, of course, but, um...I don't want Cristina to know, so, you're just the logical choice." Meredith took a small breath, looking at Thatcher to say something.

"You get the rambling from me," he said with a shrug, cocking his head to the side a little. Meredith smiled slightly and nodded. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"Boy problems. It's a long story...um...it's my boss, well my boyfriend, but really my boss...and my boyfriend...he's...both, and I hated him because he was an ass, but then we had drunken meaningless sex, and then he convinced me to go out with him, and we've been kind of like together for the past week, and then he was told that I was engaged...which is totally untrue, and then he twisted what I almost said into what he actually thought and he jumped to conclusions, so now I'm pretty sure he hates me and he thinks I'm engaged to Chadley Sullivan. And I normally wouldn't really care if one of my relationships were over, because it doesn't really matter. You know? It's not like we were actually together for that long, but..." Meredith trailed off, ending her choppy babble and sighing, shrugging her shoulder, "But he makes me feel different. He is the only person who can make me go from angry to sad with just a smile. And I get nervous when I know I'm about to see him even though I'm with him everyday. And, when he looks at me I melt. And I get goosebumps when he touches me or kisses me, and he's the only person I can have and not have self control at the same time around He just makes me feel different. And I'm not used to that. I'm not used to these feelings...but I like them. And I don't want to loose them."

"Wow. Sounds like your in love," Thatcher said with raised eyebrows and a slight chuckle. Meredith smiled at him and shook her head.

"I'm not in love. I barely know him," she said.

"It doesn't matter. Love slips right between the cracks...it doesn't take long to affect you, and you don't even know when it does. But trust me, Meredith, what you just described is love," Thatcher said with a smile. "Take it from someone with experience." Meredith sighed, passing off what he was saying as impossible.

"What do I do?" she asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Talk to him. Get it worked out. You were both wrong, Mer. You need to talk to him just as much as it's his duty to talk to you," Thatcher answered simply. Meredith knew it wasn't that simple. She couldn't just 'talk' yo him and make up after that. He didn't trust her, that was obvious. How could you be with someone you don't trust?

"Okay," Meredith said quietly, having gotten no where as she stood and started toward the door.

"Hey, Meredith," Thatcher said, turning to face her. Meredith stopped and turned around, asking him what he wanted without words. "Why don't you visit more often? You know, maybe come over for dinner sometime this week?"

"Maybe," Meredith said with a nod, smiling again at him as she turned and left.

"Maybe," thatcher repeated softly.

_Day 16..._

Meredith ran through the halls quickly, trying to get through the obstacles of people, equipment, gurneys, and wheelchairs. She finally made it to Trauma 2, where she was paged to, and opened the door quickly, stepping inside.

"Car crash, massive head injuries, and continuous seizure activity. Presenting with low pulse and vital signs. Broken bones, cracked skull, the whole shebang," the nurse said immediately, handing Meredith the chart. Meredith quickly skimmed over it and set the chart down, walking over to the patient. She looked over at Derek who was examining the patient.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. Derek stuck the flashlight he was using back into his pocket and motioned for the chart. He started scribbling things down as soon as he got it.

"I need you to take him to MRI, find out how extensive the damage is," he said, closing the chart and handing it over to Meredith.

"MRI is down," Meredith said quickly.

"Get him a CT then," Derek said, staring out of the room.

"It's backed up, it might take a few hours," Meredith stated.

"I don't care, just get it done," he turned, snapping at her before quickly leaving again. Meredith flinched slightly as she watched him leave the room and bang the door closed.

"Wow, what'd you do to piss him off?" the nurse asked with a slight laugh. Meredith sighed and shook her head.

"Could you find out how long it's going to be before CT opens up please?" she asked as she walked out of the room.

"Sure," the nurse said, starting off in the opposite direction.

"Derek!" Meredith exclaimed, trying to catch up with Derek. "Dr. Shepherd!" She called out. He stopped and turned, sighing as he looked at her.

"Yes, Dr. Grey?" he asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Can I talk to you?" Meredith asked, motioning toward the empty exam room. Derek looked around to see a few doctors looking at the two of them suspiciously and knew he couldn't just blow her off. He was her boss. It would look bad if he said no and walked away.

"Make it quick, doctor," he said, pulling her into the room that was much more quiet, void of chatting voices and ringing phones. Meredith closed the door quickly behind herself, leaning on it to enforce that he'd stay.

"I was wrong, okay? I get it, I was wrong..." Meredith started.

"Meredith..." Derek started with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"No, dammit, listen!" Meredith snapped. "Sorry. Just...listen. I was wrong. Because I should've told you about Chad or whatever, not that you haven't told me about all your old girlfriends, but if I'd known that it was that important, I would have said something..."

"Fiances are generally a pretty important piece of information," Derek said.

"He's not my fiance. We were engaged, but I broke it off. We're not engaged anymore, as in I gave him the ring back, I walked out. We are not engaged. But I was wrong, okay. You were wrong too. You shouldn't have put words into my mouth, you shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. You should have listened to me instead of my mother. Might I remind you that _you_ pursued _me_, Derek. You convinced me to give you a chance, and now I have, and you walked away very easily. You walked away. You pursued me, and you do not get to walk away before you've heard my side of the story," Meredith said it all in one big blur of a yell, pointing accusing fingers at him as she carried on. She finished yelling and took a deep breath, realizing that someone in the hall may have heard her. But she didn't care. She had to be forceful to get him to listen. And if he didn't hear her, she'd just-

Her thoughts were interrupted as Derek stepped forward quickly, pursing their lips together in a forceful, passionate kiss. Her body lunged backwards and hit the door, making a large slamming sound before she even realized what was happening. Meredith pushed him away slightly and quickly, bringing her hand up and slapping him.

"I'm mad at you right now! Do you honestly think you're getting sex in an exam room?" she whisper/yelled to make sure no one would hear her. "I mean, seriou..." And then his lips were covering hers again. And this time, she didn't care. She surrendered, bring her arms up and wrapping them around his neck. He brought his hands to the back of her thighs, forcefully boosting her up, allowing himself to get closer to her. He parted her lips, plunging his tongue inside, stopping for a split second only to yank her shirt over her head quickly.

"Derek..." Meredith gasped into their kiss, tugging at his hair slightly as his hands roamed underneath her bra and started to caress her breasts tempestuously. She arched her back, pushing herself further into him...and his erection...as his kisses trailed down her cheek and reached her neck, the chances of a mark being left in their place were high, before they finally came to their destination at her hard nipple. The next thing that tore through the silence was not a gasp, moan, or groan though. It was Meredith's pager.

"Dammit," she said, quickly pulling it out of its holder and looking. "Derek...Derek, I have to go."

"Ignore it," Derek took his skillful tongue and lips away long enough to reply. Meredith closed her eyes as his teeth softly nipped at her nipple.

"I can't," she said breathlessly, wishing they were at his house instead, and that her pager wasn't going off.

"Damn pager," Derek groaned, frustrated as he regretfully obeyed her orders and stopped. He kissed her lips one last quick time before stepping back and letting her pull her scrub top on. She smiled up at him sweetly and innocently as she backed toward the door again.

"I'm still mad at you," she said with a giggle. Derek smiled back at her, shaking his head as she pulled the door open and stepped out.

"You paged," Meredith said, half questioningly, as she was up to the nurses station.

"Yeah. I managed to work your CT in for four o'clock. I just thought you'd want to know...and there's a new patient. Here's the chart," the nurse smiled evilly as she pushed the chart over to her. Meredith glared slightly, pulling the chart out of her hands and flipping it open quickly. She looked up at the nurse, glaring again after what she'd seen.

"This isn't neuro," she said, raised eyebrows as she closed the chart and held it back out toward the nurse. The nurse held her hand out to dismiss the chart, shaking her head.

"Sorry, Dr. Grey. I only take orders from Nurse Debbie...by the way, she told me to remind you that the hospital is not sound proof," the nurse said, her evil grin returning. "Have a wonderful day, doctor." Meredith sighed, rolling her eyes as the nurse walked away.

"Shit," she mumbled under her breath, turning and starting down the hall, throwing a quick, almost pleading, glance at Derek as he stepped out of the exam room.

After a long day of taking care of meaningless cases for the nurses, Meredith remembered what it had been like her first week working for Derek. Hell on Earth. While it might have been a bit different in the sense that Meredith doubted any of the nurses would be apologizing to her in a bar and then having sex with her, it was still similar. Cleaning up vomit, changing bedpans. Damn Derek. If he hadn't been such an ass, she wouldn't have had o yell at him, then practically have sex with him in the exam room. And then the nurses wouldn't have heard it. And then she wouldn't have done custodial jobs all day.

"I signed on as a surgeon, not a janitor," she mumbled to herself as she sat at the nurses station, filling of charts. She sighed as she finished one of the cases of massive abdominal pain, looking down at the large stack of the other cases she'd finished. The severe cold symptoms case was next. She closed the chart and wheeled the chair back, over to the file shelf, sliding it in between two other cases that she'd finished. She looked up, seeing Derek standing across the hall in a conversation with two other doctors. He, however, was obviously not paying attention to anything the other doctors said. Instead, he was looking at her, giving her the McDreamy look from afar. The emotion that filled his eyes was obviously longing and desire- as were hers- to finish what they'd started in the exam room. Meredith smiled slightly as their gaze locked and their small game began. And it was only seconds later that Cristina interrupted their virtual contact.

"Hey, are you..." she started, causing Meredith to jump slightly as she turned over to face her. Cristina looked quickly to where Meredith's gaze had been. She raised her eyebrows as she saw Derek leaning against the wall and chatting with some other surgeons. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt eye sex."

"It wasn't...it's not..." Meredith started.

"Really, Meredith. Don't bother. You were picturing him naked, it's okay. Sometimes I do it," Cristina said, holding out her hand.

"You picture Dr. Shepherd naked?" Meredith asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Sure," Cristina said with a shrug. "Him, Burke, Alex, Tyler the nurse, everyone except for Bambi. No harm in pretending. You were having eye sex." She said it dismissively, smirking slightly.

"I was having eye sex," Meredith repeated the admission with a nod.

"Mhm," Cristina said, shaking her head and smiling as she stood and started off. "I'll uh, let you finish."

"Wait, you wanted to talk to me?" Meredith called after her, spinning around in her chair.

Meredith had been under the impression that fate sucked. Fate always kicked her in the ass. Always. All the time, it never failed, whenever something good was going for her, fat made sure an end was put to it. That's why she was shocked when she got the one thing she'd been hoping for all day. A minute alone with Derek. The elevator doors peeled open as he leaned on the wall, waiting for the elevator. And there he stood...her knight in shining whatever. So maybe fate wasn't all bad. She smiled slightly as she stepped in and pressed the button for ground floor. She wasn't exactly model pretty at the moment. He hair was still up in a messy bun, her clothes from earlier slightly wrinkly from having been in her locker, and after her long day, her head was telling her that what she wanted was to go home, to her bed, and sleep. The first night in her house without her mother there, back in her own bed. But, as she felt his gaze on her, burning into her shoulder blades like laser beams, every other part of her anatomy was telling her she wanted something else. She looked at him through the reflection in the elevator doors, watching as he moved his leaning from from the back wall of the elevator and stepped next to her. She smirked a little, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You know..." Derek started, looking over at her with his charming signature smirk.

"We're not finishing what we started earlier, just so you're aware. I'm still mad at you, remember?" Meredith asked, smiling over at him ad she cut him off.

"That's very heartless," Derek said, making his McDreamy face into one of extreme seriousness.

"Well, life sucks," Meredith said with a shrug.

"You know what else can suck..." Derek started.

"That's not even a funny dirty joke. Seriously, don't finish it," Meredith said, pointing a finger at him.

"Dirty? No dirty. I was going to say a vacuum. But obviously, your mind is in the gutter. Maybe you need something to relieve it," Derek suggested with a shrug, the smirk returning to his face. Meredith shook her head, smiling at him as she let a slight laugh escape her lips.

"Do you beg all of your girlfriends this much for sex?" she asked.

"Nope. They all give it to me willingly, it's just you I have to work on," Derek responded with a grin. Meredith rolled her eyes, looking forward again as the elevator doors opened.

"Maybe you should work a little harder," she said with a laugh as she stepped out of the elevator, turning back to face him again. He stepped out behind her, smiling down at her.

"We have a date tomorrow," he informed her.

"Oh we do?" Meredith asked with a smile. He nodded, looking down at her.

"Yes. There's going to be moonlight and candles and romance, so, when we get back from our date tomorrow, there better be some sex," he said with a smile and raised eyebrows.

"Yes, sir," Meredith said, saluting him with a grin as she turned and started down the hall. She wanted to check on one of her patient's from earlier. A little girl that she had gotten somewhat attached to. She had been admitted for the night, she just wanted to make sure she was doing okay. She walked down the halls at a leisurely pace, checking the room numbers as she went, but getting cut off just before she got to the right room. She looked up at the person before her, instantly becoming enthralled with the slightest nervousness and fear about what he was stopping her for.

"Chief," Meredith greeting, stepping back a little as she noticed how angry he looked. How he was clenching his jaw and grinding her teeth slightly.

"Meredith, I've been informed that...that there is a relationship going on between Dr. Shepherd and yourself," he said, obviously quite angry about the matter.

"Yeah, um, that's new information to me, too. But believe me, the nurses are not reliable sour..." Meredith started, trying her best to act like she wasn't lying.

"The nurses were not the ones who told me, Meredith," Richard said, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"Then who..." Meredith stared as from behind the chief, she noticed her mother, leaning against the wall with her own arms crossed. She looked spiteful, vengeful. Meredith sighed slightly. It was apparent that Ellis Grey would stop at no end to put an end to what she considered wrong. Maybe _she _herself was fate.

_Day 17..._

"My life sucks," Meredith said with a sigh as she slid down the wall, plopping herself onto the floor with a thump. "My mom hates me, I think. She's trying to get me fired and step on my dreams of happiness. And my dad found my number. He's been calling non-stop asking me to have dinner. And I need sex. But it has to be meaningless sex, and I can't have that."

"My mom is an annoying twit. She found my number and she's been calling nonstop, too. We're equal," Cristina said, pulling the door to the shower open as she lay in the bathtub. "No, actually, I win. Because I'm pregnant. And I want a drink. But it has to be vodka, and I can't have that." She looked over at Meredith slightly helplessly. Meredith looked back at her intensely. They were both probably going to be late for work, but it didn't matter. This was much, much more important.

"You're pregnant?" Meredith asked. She wasn't overbearing though. She asked it as if it were any other normal question. 'Are we out of milk? What's your favorite color? You're pregnant?'

"I think so. I haven't taken a test, but I'm late. My back hurts, I'm constipated, I'm throwing up, and excessively drooling, and I'm not sure, but I think my nipples are getting darker," Cristina said, pulling up her shirt to reexamine.

"Is it Burke's?" Meredith asked, leaning forward and tucking her legs underneath herself.

"I don't know. It could be Mary Poppins's," Cristina said sarcastically, shooting a glare at Meredith. "Yes, of course it's Burke's." Meredith sighed, leaning back against the wall again.

"Boys. Boys and their stupid boy penises," she commented, shaking her head.

"My life sucks. I haven't had sex in over a week," Derek complained as he came into the kitchen, opening the fridge and searching for orange juice.

"We're discussing our sex lives now?" Mark asked, squinting slightly as he pointing to the carton on the counter. Derek closed the fridge, walking over to the island and grabbing the orange juice.

"No. Just life in general," he said with a sigh.

"Well, then. Sex aside, I win. Half of the female population in this world hates me and I think I'm working on the other half right now. Plus I just found out the other day that there are three primary colors. So everyone that I've tried to share my artistic intellect with now sees me as the idiot who thinks there's eight," Mark said with a straight, almost agonized expression.

"You win," Derek agreed with a nod.

"Are you going to tell him?" Meredith asked in a whisper as they stepped on the elevator.

"No. I don't even know for sure yet..." Cristina started as she reached out and pressed the button.

"Well, the signs are there," Meredith pointed out. "Plus, when you do find out for sure, don't you think..." Meredith stopped, clearing her throat and moving to the back of the elevator along with Cristina as Derek and Mark both stepped on.

"Dr. Grey," Derek greeted with a nod. "Dr. Yang."

"Dr. Shepherd," Meredith and Cristina greeted simultaneously.

"Ladies," Mark said with a suave smile and wink in Meredith's direction.

"Asshole," Cristina mumbled.

"Well, isn't this a small world," Meredith said softly to Cristina, slightly uncomfortable. The doors were just about closed when Burke slipped through the doors, panting, out of breath.

"Doctors," he smiled at all of them, still trying to catch his breath.

"And getting smaller," Cristina said, her eyes darting to watch the numbers above the elevator doors quickly in hopes that intent stares would make it move very quickly.

"All I'm saying is that we have to be really careful, very discreet. Like, no yelling in exam rooms, no making out in elevators, no intimate embraces in stairwells..." Meredith trailed off.

"Okay, why all the sudden are we talking about this?" Derek asked, looking up from his chart at her, confused.

"I have been saying this all along, I just..." Meredith started.

"Well, last time we kissed in an elevator it was because you jumped on me, you were the one yelling in the exam room, and we have never joined in 'intimate embraces' in the stairwell," Derek cut her off, using air quotes around her term for hugging.

"Actually, the last time we kissed in an elevator was the day we had the deal that you could do anything you wanted to me in the hospital, and I believe you yelled in the exam room too, plus, you pushed me against the wall and initiated the session of sex with clothes on," Meredith pointed out.

"But, you were a willing participant in both activities," Derek countered. "And that deal was never carried out, by the way. Is that still on the table?"

"No. You're the one who blew that deal, don't blame that one on me," Meredith said, glaring at him slightly. Derek cocked his head slightly and grinned.

"You're angry," he said. "You're cute when you're angry."

"I'm not angry. I'm just annoyed," Meredith corrected.

"You're cute when you're annoyed," Derek said with a shrug as he leaned down again and resumed to writing in the chart.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm annoyed?" Meredith asked.

"Why are you annoyed?" Derek asked.

"Because we have the potential to get caught here. And you are treating it like it's nothing," Meredith answered.

"Do you want me to quit my job? I can quit my job," Derek said with a smile as he signed his name and closed the chart, sticking the pen in his pocket and handing the chart back to the nurse.

"See. That is what I'm talking about," Meredith said, pointing an accusatory finger as she walked down the hall by his side.

"I'm a good sneaker you know. I am great at sneaking. And I feel slightly offended, that you would doubt my sneaking abilities," Derek said, placing his hand on his chest and looking at Meredith with a mock hurt expression.

"I don't doubt your sneaking abilities. But I also don't doubt the chief's 'finding out' abilities. He made his point clear last night, and..." Meredith started.

"Meredith, I am very confident that we are going to be fine," Derek said, holding the door to the stairwell open for her. Meredith rolled her eyes at him as she walked through, shaking her head. "So confident," he continued with a smile as he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "that I could kiss you right now and not worry about it."

"You could?" Meredith asked, a small smile playing on her face as well.

"I could," Derek answered softly with a nod as he leaned down, his lips inches from hers.

"Fine doctors I see. You two need to get a room," a familiar voice rang out along with the quick tapping off tennis shoes coming down the stairs. The two quickly pulled apart, looking up to see Dr. Bailey walking toward them. She stopped in front of them, putting her hand on her hip as she glared slightly at Meredith.

"I'm an attending too, you know," she said with raised eyebrows before walking around them and leaving the stairwell.

"So much for not getting caught," Meredith said, looking over at Derek. "Now I have the Nazi hating me."

"Yeah," Derek answered with a nod, looking back at her.

"So, am I gonna need the ear-plugs tonight? When the house starts rockin' don't come knockin'?" Mark asked with a laugh at his comment. Meredith glared at him slightly, looking up from the chart she was filling out as she leaned against the wall. "Be careful," he added, feeling like he was much more than clever, "when the bed starts squeakin' I might be peekin'." He started laughing uncontrollably, slapping his knee, and finding no mercy at his own joke. It was brilliant in his opinion.

"When my hand comes flyin', I'm sure you'll be cryin'," Meredith said, making her own rhyme.

"Huh?" Mark asked, his laughter refusing to stop. Meredith quickly smacked him over the head, his hand immediately coming to cover the area she had just hit and his laughter immediately dying.

"Owe," he whined, rubbing the newly soar spot quickly. Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head as she picked up her chart again and started writing in it.

"How did you become a doctor, Mark?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I'm slightly hurt by what you're implying," Mark commented, making a puppy-dog pout.

"Sorry. I'm on a surgery high, not held responsible for anything I say," Meredith said, holding up the chart slightly. "Just got out of a craniotomy with the car crash guy from yesterday. I'm monitoring."

"Interesting," Mark said, holding up a chart of his own. "I just got out of a rhinoplasty with a movie star, but I'm not making mean comments." Meredith giggled slightly at the monotonous tone Mark was using, sounding almost like Ben Stein, and the expressionless look on his face.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Yes. Right here, pestering you," Mark said with a grin as he mocked her position, leaning against the wall right beside her. "You are gonna do it tonight, right?"

"That's none of your business," Meredith pointed out.

"Only it's all of my business. I'll be the one hearing or not hearing it. I should know," Mark confirmed with a decisive nod.

"Well, I promise that if we 'do it' tonight, it will happen at my house. Cristina's out for the night. That way, there will be no pervert ears listening at the door," Meredith said, cocking her head and grinning and little at Mark as she closed her chart.

"Yeah, I know. Cristina can be nosy sometimes," Mark shrugged. "So, about what time should I join you two?"

"You are quite the moron," Meredith stated before peeling herself away from the wall and walking off.

"Hey," Derek said with a smile as Meredith stepped out of the locker room. She smiled back, readjusting her bag on her arm.

"Hey," she echoed her reply.

"Ready?" Derek asked as they started walking down the hall together.

"No fancy restaurants? Or are we just going to McDonald's?" she asked sarcastically with a grin, mocking his words from their last date. "I believe you promised romance, lots of romance. And candle light."

"And sex," Derek added with a grin.

"We'll see," Meredith said, her smile turning to evil smirk.

Meredith stepped out of the car, looking around at the very familiar scenery. She smiled at Derek as he closed her car door and stepped toward her.

"We're at your house," she said.

"Yes," Derek answered with a nod.

"I thought we were going for romantic. Moonlight, candles, and stuff," she said with a laugh. Derek smiled as he placed his hand on her lower back and started to guide her around to the back of the house. They reached the back yard only seconds later, revealing a picnic blanket on the ground below the stars and moon.

"I believe I promise candle light too," Derek said, nodding his head as he stepped over to the blanket and lit two long candles. "Moonlight, candles, wine. Romance." he shrugged and grinned at Meredith. "And there's only one thing missing..."

"This doesn't constitute. The date hasn't even started yet, there's no way to show that this is actually romantic. Plus, you've already taken me on a picnic," Meredith pointed out with a grin.

"So? What's the point?" Derek asked.

"So. The point is, there is more than one thing missing here. And until I get the R word, you're not getting any of the S word," Meredith said with a smirk as she sat down on the blanket, raising the wine bottle. "Would you like some wine?" Derek stood there, just looking at her for a few seconds with raised eyebrows. It was obvious- shown by the look in his eyes- that he was desirous. He finally stepped forward, smiling and refusing to accept defeat.

"Sex first, wine later," he said as he grabbed Meredith's hands and pulled her up swiftly, eliciting a giggle from her. They were quickly stifled, however, as his lips covered hers in a deep, passionate kiss.

Somehow, after the kiss became much more heated and they started back into the bedroom, Meredith had managed to stop Derek. And, she managed to convince him that they had to go to her house. There was no other option. She would not have Mark walking in and joining them in bed first thing in the morning. Derek had quickly made the decision for sex over sleeping in his own bed. And then, in the shortest time humanly possible to get from one place to another, they ended up at Meredith's house, in the same heated kiss they had been before they decided to switch locations. Meredith was hiked up slightly, her legs wrapped around Derek's waist securely and her head cocked back from his soft tug at her hair to grant himself more access to her neck and cleavage. Her shirt was long-since discarded and on the floor, her bare back pressed against the wall as he ravished her with kisses, finding all of her weak and sensitive spots immediately. It was as if he knew her body like the back of his hand. Just his soft touch and tender kisses on her skin made her core tighten. She could already feel herself getting mildly wet.

"Derek," she mumbled breathlessly. "We need to take this upstairs." He obeyed her command quickly, skillfully managing to continue kissing her and carry her up the stairs at the same time. Oh, the abilities of a horny, determined man. What seemed like seconds later, her back was flat against the bed, instead of on the wall, and Derek's lips were on her own instead of on her neck. His hands had taken the place of his lips on her bare body as they grazed her soft skin. One finger still tracing just above the waistline of her pants, the other hand slid under her back and unfastened her bra, pulling it off gently, yet hurriedly. Meredith gasped slightly into the kiss, bringing her hands up and running them through his thick hair, tugging at the locks softly as his hands again started to wander, finding their intended target on her chest. His hands caressed softly, his fingers tweaking her nipples occasionally as his tongue danced in her mouth. She let out a slight moan as he moved his mouth from hers, replacing his hands as they traveled down farther and unbuttoned her pants, sliding them down carefully (what a multi tasker). His fingers slowly and softly traced the outline of every hem on her panties, feathering her skin softly, causing shivers and tingles to erupt everywhere throughout her body before his finger slipped through the sides and slid them down her legs, the garment just becoming a variable in the pile of clothing that had gathered. As soon as he'd felt the warmth and wetness that had gathered between her legs, he wasted absolutely no time in slipping his finger inside her, skillfully playing inside her before entering another finger and working through an array of patterns. Meredith bit her lower lips as he worked her body into a frenzy, wondering why the hell she had waited so long to have sex with him again. His fingers worked skillfully and precisely, as if it were a surgery he was performing. She couldn't help but let a few of the moan she was so desperately trying to hold escape as he worked.

"Derek..." she whimpered, arching her back as his fingers hit sensitive spots. But, of course, since fate always worked against them, a cell phone started to ring. It was his. He was almost as happy as she was to ignore the annoying ringing, not paying a care to it. The it subsided. If it was that important, they would leave a message. Unfortunately though, instead of leaving a message, the caller dialed again, bringing about the incessant ringing again. Meredith and Derek both heaved a sigh of frustration and anger at whoever it was as there moment of foreplay ended for Derek to answer his phone.

"Hello," he growled into the phone.

"Derek! Derek," Mark's frantic voice rang out on the other line. "Derek, did you have candles?"

"What?" Derek asked, confused as to why Mark would call.

"Derek did you have candles going in the back yard?" Mark spit out frantically.

"What? Yes, yeah, I had candles. What's going on, why are you...what the hell? Are those sirens?" Derek asked, getting slightly frantic himself.

"Derek, the back porch is on fire," Mark said quickly before hanging up the phone.

"What?! Mark?! Shit!" Derek exclaimed, closing his phone and jumping up quickly.

_Day 18..._

Meredith lied in her bed, her eyes fixed on the trees blowing rapidly outside. The wind blew violently, slamming against the window in large gusts and causing thumping sounds on the window. Meredith snuggled deeper into the soft bed, pulling her blankets tighter around her body. It wasn't the wind that was keeping her awake. It wasn't the pouring rain. The thunder, or the lightning that occasionally lit the sky up. Actually, she would have normally found those things slightly relaxing. It was the fact that he wasn't there. She had found this happening every time she tried to sleep alone. Taking a nap in the on-call room or lying in her very own bed, she could not sleep without him. It was like he had her strung out. And how the hell did he do it? A week together and already, she couldn't sleep alone. She felt empty without his strong arms wrapped around her body for some reason. The bed felt cold. And she hated it. How the hell did he do it? That questioned seemed to keep floating through her mind. She finally heaved a sigh, pulling the covers back and getting out of bed quickly, slamming her hand a little violently on the banister as she started stumbling down the stairs in a slightly sleep driven haze. It wasn't even light outside, still in the extreme hours of the morning. Probably only slightly past 3:00 am. Turning the corner, she saw the glow from the kitchen. The light was on. She slowed down a little, almost afraid. She was supposed to be in the house alone. Cristina was with Burke. So who exactly was in her kitchen at the crack of dawn? She slowly tip-toed to the door, pushing it open and peeking inside, ready to make a run for it if she saw a guy standing in a mask with a knife, breathing heavily. Something out of a 'Halloween' movie. Or one of Hitchcock's originals. She let out a relaxed breath, though, when she saw Cristina standing there, eating a sandwich.

"What are you doing home?" Meredith asked as she pushed the door the rest of the way open and stumbled in, plopping down on a stool.

"I just performed an amazing surgery. You should have been there, Meredith. I was cutting my steak, imagining it as a really big, severely burnt heart. When all the sudden, someone collapses! He had Murphy's syndrome and ended up needing surgery! Isn't that great?!" Cristina exclaimed.

"Not for him," Meredith said, rolling her eyes.

"Woah. What put you in a bitchy mood? I thought you'd be excited about my fabulous date," Cristina said, putting the bottle of mustard back in the fridge.

"My date left in the middle of sex. His house caught on fire," Meredith said with a shrug. Cristina started laughing, pointing at Meredith and receiving a glare in return.

"Sorry," she said, stopping and clearing her throat. "So, this date? Is he the guy who gave you the love bite?" Cristina smirked before lifting her sandwich composed of a variety of meats and taking a bite, once again pointing, but this time to the hickey at the intersection of Meredith's neck and collar bone. Meredith's eyes widened as her hand came quickly to cover the spot Cristina was pointing to.

"Shit," she said, getting off her stool quickly and starting back toward the stairs. She ran into the bathroom, flicking on the lights quickly and looking at the bruise in the mirror. "Damn him!"

Mark shrugged as he and Derek stood in the kitchen, surveying the damage caused.

"At least you got sex," he said. "It's not that bad. Trust me, Derek, I would choose my penis over our house any day." He looked at Derek with a face of approval. Derek nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better about the money that has to be paid to repair this," he said, motioning to the damage with his head.

"Glad I could help," Mark said, patting Derek on the shoulder. "Alright, well. What are we gonna do? We can't just leave a hole in the back wall of the house. It looks like we'll only need to repair from this cabinet over. The other ones are only mildly scorched..." Mark started motioning to counters and walls with his hands.

"What? We can't only repair half of the counters. We can't have counters that are 'mildly scorched'," Derek said, crinkling his eyebrows.

"Dude. I know what I'm doing. Do you know how many fires I've caused in my day?" Mark asked.

"No, I think..." Derek started.

"Twenty-three and a half. That's how many," Mark said, putting his hand up to silence him. "Let me take care of this."

"A half?" Derek asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Yeah...that time it was half my fault and um...half Misty's husband's so...well, because see, I was the one who lit the candles, but um...he was the one who chased me through the house, so...you know what, I don't want to talk about it," Mark decided with a nod.

"Right," Derek agreed, shaking his head and chuckling slightly.

"It's three in the morning," Mark finally declared, looking at the clock on the stove, that thankfully did not get burned.

"Yes it is," Derek confirmed.

"How's your house?" Meredith asked with a slight smirk, stepping between Derek and Mark in the line at the coffee cart.

"Don't ask," Derek said, rolling his eyes.

"It's actually not that bad...just a couple...ten...thousand dollars of repair work and it'll be back to normal!" he snapped his fingers for emphasis as he gave a proud nod.

"That's great," Meredith said with a grin, "Only ten thousand doallrs."

"Only ten," Mark agreed with a nod.

"You know, I'm not..." Derek started, "I don't need co fee." He nodded as he placed his hand on Meredith's shoulder. "Can I, uh, talk to you?"

"Sure," Meredith nodded, stepping out of line with him. "I need to talk to you anyway." They started out of the cafeteria, quickly making their way into the hall.

"You go first," Derek said. Meredith looked around to make sure the hall was clear before she started talking in a whisper.

"You gave me a hickey! People see me everyday, patient's see me, how can you give me a hickey!" she spoke, not realizing that he wasn't really paying attention. "A hickey, Derek! Cristina pointed it out to me, that's how bad it is. How can you..." Derek looked around quickly, as she had done previously, before grabbing her hand and pulling her into an on-call room.

He locked the door quickly, turning around and stepped toward her, pulling his scrub top off as he pushed her back slightly so her back was against one of the metal poles supporting the bunk beds.

"Is the hickey really that big a deal?" he asked as he raised her own scrub top off. She smiled slightly.

"I guess not," she said, giggling as his hands immediately went to her bare skin, his lips covering her neck. It wasn't long before his fingers were slipped into her scrub pants, tracing, following each other across the seem of her underwear, ready to assume their position from the previous night. Meredith moaned slightly, feeling a sweat begin to break on her skin at just the thought of where the on-call room meeting was going.

"Derek, we shouldn't be doing this in the hospital...we could get caught..." the last coherent thought she would form through the next several minutes slipped out as a moan, a gasp as his fingers found the wet crease between her legs and slipped inside her.

"I'm sure we'll be fine...we can have sex in the hospital," Derek muttered against her neck. "Right?" He let his fingers dance at his request for her approval, making it sure-fire that he'd get his way. He felt her nod urgently. Their bodies were extremely close, her clinging to him, digging her nails into his back as he worked. He lowered her slightly so that their faces were at the same level, as he attacked her lips with his, pursuing her mouth with his tongue as his free hand came up to pull her scrub pants and panties down. He moved his fingers around inside her, holding her up with his free hand as she moaned and gasped when he touched certain places. Soon, they all blended together in a close-to-orgasm scream-like-thing. Derek quickly tore their bodies away from the support beam that was the pole and lied her down on the bed, moving his body down and burying his face between her legs. The pattern of his tongue and fingers became harmonic motion. It was like a melodic rhythm that both he and Meredith were quite enjoying. Meredith grabbed a handful of sheets, holding them tightly in one fist as the other hand came to his locks of hair, tugging gently.

"Derek..." she cried, biting her lip. Taking her throaty moans and whimpers as a cue, Derek repositioned himself, relieving himself of his own pants and underwear quickly, before entering her quickly, relishing in the moment both had been waiting for. He stopped, listening to the sound of both of their heavy pants in the silent stillness, before starting to slowly thrust again, moving inside her. It wasn't long before the moment became heated again with deep kissing and forceful, quick thrusts bringing extreme waves of pleasure to both Meredith and Derek.

Meredith pulled her hair back quickly after having fixed it from the big heap of mattress-mess it was in. She pushed her sleeves up slightly past her elbows and turned to face Derek.

"Thanks...for the sex," she said with a nod.

"No problem," Derek assured with a grin, shaking his head ad he tied his scrub pants securely. Meredith unlocked the door and turned the handle carefully, pulling the door open slightly and peeking out. She slipped out and closed the door behind her, leaving Derek to chuckle at her spy-like antics. Meredith sighed with relief as she walked down the hall. Nobody had caught them. They were safe. She smiled a little as she came around the corner and went to the nurses station, racking her mind for the first patient she had had in mind to see that day.

"Can I have..." she started, thinking about a name to call off.

"Phil Turner...very important. Urgent brain tumor, needs to be taken care of right away or he might croak. You should see him first," Mark said, reading his own chart as he came and stood beside her. "And you have a hickey." Meredith turned and looked at him.

"I know that. Do you not think I know I have a hickey," she scoffed.

"Just saying," Mark said with a shrug.

"Well, don't just say," she glared. "You always have a way to piss me off, you know that."

"Who's chart did you want, doctor?" the nurse asked.

"Phil Turner," Meredith and Mark answered at the same time.

"Thanks, a lot. Now all the nurses are going to be staring at my neck," Meredith informed him.

"Like they wouldn't notice it on their own," Mark said with a grin as he placed the chart neatly in the nurses stack. "You seriously underestimate the great help of this hospital."

"Shut up," Meredith responded with a sigh and slight smile as the nurse handed her her chart.

"Was the sex in the on-call room good?" Mark whispered in her ear as he walked by.

"Barbie called," Cristina said, a scowl on her face.

"What'd she say?" Meredith asked with a grin, looking up from the CT results she had in her hand that she was delivering. She always loved to hear the way Cristina spun Izzie's words to make her sound like the biggest ditz on the planet.

"She wants us to all get together for Christmas and spend it 'cherishing the life of baby Jesus in light of friendship'," Cristina said, using air-quotes. Meredith laughed a little.

"Oh wow," she said, shaking her head.

"That's not even that bad. She says that if we don't go to New York, she's going to fly to Seattle because 'whatever it takes, she plans to keep our close knit family happy'," Cristina said rolling her eyes. "We are not close knit! We are not happy!"

"You're not happy," Meredith corrected.

"Neither are you," Cristina said.

"Oh, yes I am. I'm very happy. I'm a happy person. You're the one who hates the world," Meredith pointed out.

"No, Meredith. I hate all the idiots in the world. There is a difference," Cristina stated.

"Well, whatever. You're still not happy," Meredith shrugged.

"Would you be happy if you were raised by my mom?" Cristina asked expectantly. Meredith turned, giving her a look that said it all. "Yeah, okay, I get it. Evil bat woman is worse, but still."

"Fine. If your mom was my mom, I would also hate the world," Meredith obliged.

"Thank you," Cristina said with a satisfied nod in Meredith's direction.

"You're very welcome," Meredith said. She smiled at Cristina as she turned down a side-hall, making her way to Derek's office.

Derek looked up from the MRI results he was looking at as he heard the light knock at his door. The door opened silently and Meredith stepped in, smiling.

"Hey," he said as his own face gained a smile.

"Hi," Meredith said, handing him the CT scans and sitting in a chair across from his desk. Derek pulled the CT scans out of the large envelope labeled with the patient's information and SGH in large print. He held them up to the light, scanning over them quickly, confirming that the patient had a very major concussion but nothing too dangerous. He put them back into the envelope with a sigh, grabbing the chart that was lying on his desk that corresponded to the information on the chart. He looked at Meredith, noticing she looked deep in thought and also a little worried.

"You okay?" he asked, flipping the chart open.

"Oh," Meredith said, slightly startled as she was pulled out of her day-dream. "Um, yeah. I was thinking about having dinner with my dad tonight. I can't decide. My father and I haven't had the...best relationship."

"Big fight?" Derek asked curiously, closing the chart and handing it, along with the CT results, to Meredith.

"Something like that," Meredith shrugged with a small smile, taking the small stack of things and standing.

Derek stood in surgery, the scalpel in his hand, performing emergency surgery on a patient from trauma. Sometimes he had moments, that actually usually came while he was in the OR, where he knew. Not knew anything in particular, just knew. Knew that something was off, knew that something was happening, knew that someone was watching him, things like that. And as he stood, scalpel in hand, completely in control, he knew that someone was, in fact, watching him. It was that tingle he got suddenly in his spine, the feeling where you just know that two eye balls are watching you, beaming into your shoulder blades like laser beams. He turned his head, looking up into the gallery, which he assumed would be empty based on the late time and business outside th OR door. But it wasn't. Instead, Meredith sat, watching him. She smiled down at him as they made eye contact, eliciting him to smile back from behind his mask. He turned again, focusing his attention on the surgery.

"Clamp," he said, holding his hand out to the nurse.

Meredith finished her shift later than usual. There had been a huge car crash, semi-truck overturned, six car pile-up behind it, and she had had to stay and assist. But, after a lot of work, the ER was quiet again. She went to the locker room, changing into street clothes and starting out of the hospital to leave. The surgery board caught her eye, though, as she walked by it. Derek's name was on it for OR 2. She quickly contemplated and decided to drop into the gallery and see him one last quick time before she left. She ended up standing there, watching him a bit longer than expected. After a while, he noticed and turned, their eyes locking in a quick gaze as they exchanged smiles. He quickly diverted his eyes, going back to the difficult surgery at hand. Meredith turned, walking out of the gallery and leaving the hospital.

If you would have told her only a year before that on this night, she would first watch her boyfriend slash boss in the OR, then go to her estranged father's house for dinner with his wife, she would have laughed and told you that you were so off base it wasn't even funny. But, on that night, Meredith went and watched her boss slash boyfriend in the Or, then went to her estranged father's house to have dinner with him and his wife. She stepped on the porch, trying to decide rather or not to knock. She raised her hand several times to do so, but she never really could make her wrist move. She finally sighed, accepting defeat, and turning to walk down the stairs. She stopped, though, as over the dark lawn, light shown in a steady path.

"Meredith?" she heard from the door. She turned quickly, seeing her father standing there behind the door.

"Um...hi," Meredith said with an awkward smile.

"We were, um...eating a late dinner, and Susan thought she saw a prowler, so...what are you doing here, Meredith?" Thatcher asked.

"Oh, I was just...I'm not...am I..." Meredith stumbled, moving her hands in motions as she spoke.

"No. No, you're not intruding. Why don't you join us for dinner? It's freezing out here," Thatcher said. Meredith sighed, not knowing rather or not dinner was a good idea. But, she had originally come for dinner, so, why not? She shrugged, smiling softly again.

"Sure," she said, stepping back onto the porch and in from the cold air and light snow.

Derek's surgery had been very long. Long and difficult. What he really wanted to do was sleep, in his own comfortable bed. But somehow, Mark had talked him into going to Joe's for just one drink after their surgeries. He stepped into the bar behind Mark, hoping to be able to drink quickly and persuade Mark to leave so he could get home. He started toward the bar, stopping and cocking his head slightly as for the first time, he noticed the tiny, fragile looking frame sitting at the bar. He stepped up to her, looking at the line of shot glasses she had produced. He raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked over at her.

"Wow. Are you drunk?" he asked. Meredith looked over at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, slightly confused. She had actually been at the bar for hours, taking the alcohol in stride. She was drunk, but not too drunk to comprehend.

"I just left the hospital. Mark talked me into coming for a drink. So, that begs the question. What are you doing here?" Derek asked, a slight grin on his face.

"I just spent the evening with my father and his wife, who I've never met, which was not the most pleasant experience that I've ever been through. I kinda needed a drink," Meredith said with a sigh. Derek smiled, laughing at her simple statement that had so much more depth than what she was making it out to be. He pulled out his wallet, shaking his head as he placed down the money for her drinks.

"Okay. Well, you've had your drink now. Time to go home," he said, extending his hand toward her. Meredith smiled up at him, for the first time thankful that somebody had stopped her from drinking more. She grabbed his hand and stood, leaving the bar with him.

_Day 19..._

Meredith woke up, nuzzled into Derek's chest with his arms wrapped around her securely. She smiled as she snuggled even deeper into his warmth, taking in his scent. It didn't really have a name. It wasn't a particular cologne or soap. It was just him. It was a Derek-y-ness-scent. She lay in the same position for a few minutes, listening to his heartbeat and the sound of his lungs bringing in and gushing out air, hearing his sleep-mumble once or twice. She finally slipped out of the warm bed, goosebumps instantly forming over her skin as the air hit her body. She slipped out of the bedroom quietly and into the bathroom, walking over to the shower and turning it on, hoping for the water to warm quickly. The room filled with steam in just a few minutes and she shed her clothes, quickly stepping into the hot water. Instant gratification hit her body as the stream hit her cold skin. She closed her eyes in relief and relaxation as she stepped directly into the water, letting her hair and face get wet as well.

Derek woke up as the sound of the shower running filtered through his sleeping peace. He groaned slightly at first, lifting his head off the pillow and checking the time. Mark was already at work, and the place that had previously been occupied by Meredith's small body was empty, which could only mean one thing. He smiled slightly, no longer feeling tired, as he quickly pulled up the covers and slipped out of bed. He opened the door, immediately feeling heat and steam hit his body. The mirror was fogged over, as was the glass on the shower doors. Closing the door lightly behind himself, he walked over to the shower, shedding clothes on his way. He placed his hand on the handle of the shower door, pulling it open quickly. Meredith turned at the gust of cold air, looking slightly startled at first. She quickly relaxed, however, smiling softly as she saw him.

"Good morning," she said, the water still beating onto her body. Derek smiled back slightly as he stepped in, closing the door behind himself. Meredith giggled, the urgency evident by the look in his eyes, and his bulging erection, of course. He sure didn't think twice. And suddenly, she was easily pulled under as well. His lips were covering hers in a deep kiss, his hands gently releasing the washcloth from her, which she was gripping tightly in her hand without notice. He held it under the warm spray of the shower head before bringing it back to their bodies. He moved his mouth from hers as he followed the intricate circles he was making over her breasts with his tongue, stopping and paying special attention as he got to her hard nipple, running his tongue in soft circle and sucking. He continued to trail the washcloth down her torso lightly, in a teasing manner, as goosebumps reformed on her skin from something other than the cold air. Once again, he followed the pattern of the wash cloth with his tongue down the skin of her stomach, trailing the wash cloth further down between her thighs, his soft stroking making her gasp, sucking in air quickly each time. Finally, he let go of the wash cloth, moving his tongue down her body further, running his tongue across her most sensitive spots in a pattern. Her body vibrated and shook with pleasure as e continued on. She panted heavily as he finally removed his mouth and stood again, cupping her breasts in his hands once more as he pushed her back against the shower wall gently. Her wet body instantly became chilly without the warm spray running over her. He braced his hands on the slippery wall beside her, coming inside her with one push, sending chills of pleasure and anticipation through her body. He thrust slowly at first, quickening his pace as he found the pattern that she seemed to enjoy immensely. Rocking her hips, Meredith met his strokes and rhythm, creating intense pleasure for both of them. Meredith's shrieks of satisfaction, along with Derek's verbal expression as they both came, tore through the air that was silent except for the water still pummeling down on the floor of the shower.

Mark Sloane did not wake up a happy camper that morning. He was supposed to go to work, but he called off. He had had a massive hangover and didn't want some poor, unsuspecting woman to come out lopsided because of his pounding head ache. But, it seemed that staying home was a bad idea, seeing as he heard every noise coming from the not sos silent bathroom down the hall. When he'd told Meredith his friend needed sex, he didn't expect that he'd know every time Derek got it. Mark forcefully pulled the pillow over his head, half trying to drown out the sound, and half trying to end his misery with suffocation. Finally, he heard the shower turn off along with some giggling from Meredith. Rolling his eyes, he rolled over in his comfortable bed, wishing that he would have gotten some sex instead of Derek. But life didn't work that way. Life sucked. Mark realized this. And that is why, on that morning, he was not a happy camper.

"Hey," Cristina said, coming up to Meredith. "Ew. You're glowing. You look happy."

"Is there something wrong with being happy?" Meredith asked with raised eyebrows.

"It depends...why are you happy?" Cristin asked curiously.

"Because of great sex," Meredith said.

"Then it's perfectly fine," Cristina shrugged. "Who delivered?"

"Um...just some guy, that I met...at a place," Meredith said quickly.

"Right. So a geeky one night stand friend you made at Joe's," Cristina said with a smirk.

"Exactly," Meredith agreed quickly.

"Dr. Grey," Derek said, coming up behind her to get a chart, and standing a little too close to go unnoticed, Cristina watched as they interacted with eye and body language. She squinted suspiciously, waiting until Derek went away to address it.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Burke asked, looking at Cristina with an obviously confused expression. She was standing at the window to the trauma room, watching them as they interacted with each other and the patient.

"Spying," Cristina answered simply.

"Why?" Burke asked, in a very Burke-like-way.

"I think there's something going on between her and Shepherd," Cristina said, leaning closer to the glass. "She won't say it, she denied it, but it's so obvious. I just know it."

"You don't know anything," Burke corrected her. "You can only assume."

"No. There's something going on," Cristina assured him, cocking her head slightly.

"We've ordered an MRI to see how extensive the damage is, but right now it seems you only have a minor concussion," Derek said, writing in the chart as he talked to the patient and her husband. "How did this happen, now?"

"Oh...I um, I slipped. This morning, in the shower," the patient explained quickly. "And hit my head."

"On the faucet," the husband added. "She hit her head on the faucet. See, that's the direction we were facing when..."

"It happened," the wife finished, blushing slightly. Derek looked up, slightly confused and not following their story.

"I guess the lesson to be learned is that shower sex can be dangerous," the husband said through laughter, receiving a smack from his wife.

"Oh, I see," Derek said as it came together. He flashed a quick smile at Meredith, getting the same smirk from her in return. "Well, Mrs. Johnson, we should have your MRI back soon."

"Okay," the patient said, nodding her head, her cheeks still a light shade of red.

"Dr. Grey," Derek said, motioning for her to leave with him. Meredith smiled at the patient's quickly following.

They stepped onto the elevator, starting to laugh as the doors closed. It probably wouldn't have been funny had they not had sex in the shower a few hours before.

"We are so never having sex in the shower again," Meredith said through her laughter. "Way too dangerous."

"That's okay, there's always the car and the kitchen table," Derek said with a smirk. Meredith rolled her eyes looking at the numbers as their laughter finally started to die down.

"The table, huh? Are you referring to the one in your burnt down kitchen?" she asked, looking back over at Derek.

"The hole in the wall should provide a breeze," he said with a shrug.

"An easy way to catch pneumonia," Meredith pointed out jokingly.

"We can always test it out tonight," Derek suggested with a grin.

"Sorry, tonight is being spent at home. I'm working to prove Cristina's suspicions wrong...even though they're right," Meredith said with a sigh.

"Well, if you'd prefer we can go out into the parking lot right now and try the other plan," Derek said, smirking down at Meredith.

"Wow, what a gentlemanly way to proposition me," Meredith said, returning his smirk and rolling her eyes.

"Is there a gentlemanly way?" Derek asked with a shrug.

"I suppose not," Meredith said, shaking head. Derek grabbed the hem of her scrub top, pulling her into him and leaning down, kissing her softly. That only lasted for a second, though, as the kiss turned passionate and heated, his tongue urging her lips to open and grant him further access. Bringing her had to his face, she slowly parted her lips, relaxing into his body as they kissed. Had they been in a more private area, the kiss probably would have gone farther. Derek's hand was already slipped slightly underneath the back of her scrub top, his hands resting on the bare skin of her lower back. The dinging that suggested their arrival at their floor was what pulled them apart. Meredith sighed as they pulled apart, just as the doors did.

"I'll see you around," she said with a slight smile, biting her lower lip. Derek nodded in agreement with his own smile as they stepped out of the elevator. Meredith started down the hall, stopping as her pager went off. She stopped and pulled it out of her holder.

"Crap," she mumbled to herself. She didn't think this would actually happen. She figured it was a warning or something. She had denied it. But now, as she looked down at her pager, there was no denying that Miranda Bailey had every intention of carrying through with her promise for reprimand.

She had no right. She had absolutely no right, whatsoever, to make Meredith do dirty work. She wasn't even her attending. Derek was her attending...and he was her boyfriend, which got her into this mess in the first place. And her half a day with Bailey reminded Meredith of her first week with Derek and then some. Bailey was even worse. Meredith was tired, and every muscle in her body ached from some of the chores Bailey had her doing. She sat on the bench in the locker room, her eyes closed as she tried to rejuvenate herself. She wasn't going to complain. She was going to suck it up. She made her bed and it was time to lie in it. She just needed to figure a way out before she had to lie in it for much longer. She stood up again, finally pulling her shirt out of her locker and pulling it on, slamming her locker before turning and starting out of the locker room.

"Hey, where've you been all day?" Cristina asked, coming in as Meredith was leaving.

"Don't ask," Meredith said, sending a slight, unintentional glare at Cristina.

"Okay then," Cristina shrugged, opening her locker. "So, are you gonna be home tonight, or are you staying with McDreamy again?"

"I am not sleeping with my boss. That's you, remember?" Meredith asked with raised eyebrows.

"Ooh, harsh. Only, you are. Don't insult my intelligence, it's so obvious," Cristina said with a sigh.

"I am one-hundred percent, not sleeping with my boss," Meredith lied.

"Can anyone spell 'delusional'?" Cristina asked sarcastically. "If Shepherd has you believing he's not your boss when you do hankey-pankey with him he must be really good at the whole roll playing thing. Do you prefer pizza boy or lion tamer?"

Meredith pulled up to her house and stepped out of her car, locking the door and finding her house key on the ring. Starting up the porch, she looked up, slightly taken back by the sight in front of her.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said, walking up to Ellis and her new accomplice. "Why the hell do you have to keep interfering?"

"Meredith, you're making a mistake," Ellis said firmly, a smug look on her face due to the brilliance of her new plan.

"I am doing no such thing. You don't get to take my happiness away and call it parenting," Meredith said, annoyance apparent in her voice.

"But you're happy because of the wrong reasons, dear," Ellis said with a sigh.

"It's good to see you, Meredith," the voice from beside her mother finally spoke up. Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...nice to see you too, Chad," Meredith said unconvincingly. "Mother, I need to talk to you."

"No Meredith tonight?" Mark asked as Derek walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Nope. No Meredith," Derek answered with a sigh.

"Good, I wouldn't want you keeping our company up," Mark said with a grin.

"Company?" Derek asked. He'd seen an extra car outside but her assumed the neighbors were having a visitor.

"Yep. Guess who decided to drop in?" Mark asked.

"Weiss and Savvy!" a tall blond exclaimed from the doorway.

_Day 20..._

"Trouble in paradise, I suspect," Cristina said, smirking at Meredith as she walked down to the kitchen.

"What paradise? There is no paradise. My mother and ex-fiance are going to stalk me, all day. I know it. They're going to show up at my work place, come here for dinner, and follow me every where I go in an attempt to ruin my happy, happy life," Meredith said in a slightly elevated tone.

"Aw. Is someone worried about what McDreamy will say when Bam-Bam and Corella come to the hospital?" Cristina asked in mock pity.

"And Dr. Shepherd and I are not together," Meredith said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, Meredith, when are you going to figure out that I know everything? I mean, do you not know that I'm a genius?" Cristina asked expectantly.

"You're full of yourself," Meredith pointed out. "And I'm very bitter about life right now, today is not the day to screw with me."

"But it is the day to be screwed by McDreamy..." Cristina said with a grin.

"Ask me why I hate you," Meredith said with a slight nod.

"You're not allowed to hate me, Meredith. And you're not allowed to be bitter at life. I'm eating honey nut cheerios and you can buy coffee grinds for 59 cents. This is America and life is good. Live it up," Cristina said with a shrug and a smug look. Meredith glared slightly at her.

"Oh...go take a pregnancy test!" she said, walking out of the kitchen.

"I'm highly offended by that! You could have just told me to go to hell where I belong!" Cristina called after her, hearing the bathroom door slam. "Yeah, I'm good. I really am a genius."

"So, Addie and I were thinking..." Savvy started after swallowing a sip of coffee.

"Oh God. Let's not talk about Addison, please. I'm still waking up," Derek groaned.

"But she..." Savvy started.

"Sav, let's just leave it alone. They live across the country from each other, they're not going to get together," Weiss said with a sigh, putting his fork down on his plate.

"But there's always a chance!" Savvy argued.

"Ooh, Derek hasn't told you about his extra curricular activities here in Seattle, has he?" Mark asked with a grin as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mark...I'm going to shove you through the hole in the wall," Derek warned.

"Derek has a fuck buddy," Mark sang out, his face showing challenge.

"What?!" Savvy whipped her head around quickly, looking at Derek angrily.

"Excuse me," Meredith said, getting one of the nurse's attention. "Do you know where Dr. Shepherd is?"

"I don't think he's come in yet," the nurse said, not looking up from the computer screen.

"Thanks," Meredith said with a sigh. Where was he? He was never late. It wasn't like him to be late. Why was he late? She heard the elevator ding and quickly turned around, hoping that it's be him instead of someone like her mother and Chad. And, it was quite likely that it was someone like her mother and Chad. Her mother's full intent to get them back together was very clear. Or, maybe she didn't want to get them back together. Maybe she just wanted to break her and Derek up. Either way, her mother was a determined woman, and Meredith knew she always won. But there was no way Meredith was going to let her win this time. Still, she braced herself to see her mother standing in the elevator, coming to stomp on Meredith's day. She breathed a sigh of relief as she instead saw Derek and Mark, deep in conversation.

"But you shouldn't have said anything!" Derek exclaimed.

"I didn't know Savvy was going to go all cage fighter on you, I'm sorry," Mark reasoned.

"How could you not? Savvy and Addison are best friends," Derek pointed out with a sigh.

"I apologize with all my heart," Mark said, sounding completely insincere. "Maybe next time you should try and not wake me up with noisy sex."

"Spite? This is out of spite? You're vengeful," Derek concluded with a nod.

"Precisely," Mark said, walking in another direction.

"What was that about?" Meredith asked, walking up to Derek.

"Um...some friends of mine...they want to meet you. They want to have dinner tonight with us," Derek said, slightly uneasily. He knew how Savvy was. He knew how she could be, and he was slightly worried. But he did need Meredith to do this, or Savvy wouldn't think twice about killing him. Meredith's eyes widened slightly.

"I...can't," she said, biting her lower lip. Derek looked down at her slightly confused. And she was biting her lower lip. Great. He couldn't force her to go if she was doing that. He loved that, it drove him crazy.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because...I'm...having dinner with my mother and ex-fiance," Meredith shrugged and grinned. "Honestly, don't you think..."

"It's not that big of a deal. I promise, it might be a little rough, but it won't be too bad. Please?" Derek asked, giving her a pleading look mixed with the McDreamy look. He was unstoppable with the McDreamy look.

She had tried. She had really tried very hard to not give into him. To make herself immune to his famous look. It had already been deemed the McDreamy look, and it always made her go weak. She tried, but she just couldn't help it. After his McDreamy look, the pleading apparent in his deep eyes, Meredith had no choice but to give in. She's finally said fine, eliciting one of his famous McDreamy grins to go along with the look. Meredith rolled her eyes turning to walk away.

"Dr. Grey," Dr. Bailey walked up and nodded in her direction as way of greeting, exchanging charts from a nurse.

"Dr. Bailey," Meredith said quickly, biting her lower lip slightly as she turned to walk in the other direction, knowing not to temp anything that may get her into Bailey's wrath again.

"Mer, your mother stopped by the house with..." Cristina was suddenly there behind her, between her and Derek, talking.

"Chad," Meredith said bitterly as he showed up behind Derek with flowers in his hand. The day had started off okay, right? Why was this day going downhill?

"Meredith," Chad let out a slightly relieved sigh and smiled. Derek turned slightly, looking at Chad then back at Meredith with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Dr. Grey, we have patients," he said, plastering on a fake smile to seem professional in front of all the people that now surrounded them.

"Yeah...we do, we have patients...I'll...tell my mother I'll see her later," Meredith said, quickly weaving her way out of the group of people and following Derek.

"So, that's the ex fiance?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes," Meredith answered, slightly uneasily.

"Should I be worried?" Derek asked, quickly glancing back at the dumbfounded looking people as he pressed the button on the elevator.

"No, absolutely not," Meredith answered quickly.

"Good," Derek smiled at her with a nod, trying to keep his face void of jealousy. There was no doubt that he was raging inside with it. Which was strange, because Derek had never considered himself a jealous person. He could only recall one other time in his life when he was jealous, and it was in first grade when Mark got the blue bike and he ended up with the red. He chuckled slightly at the memory as they stepped into the elevator, still fighting to keep his jealousy down. It hadn't been there when he found out that Meredith had been engaged before. But for some reason, it was there now. No, not for some reason, he knew the reason. It was because now that he'd seen him, all he could picture was this guy touching Meredith. Touching her skin with his hands, and it made him sick to his stomach. He could explain why the jealousy and nausea was there, he just couldn't understand the feeling. It was new to him. He had never been in love.

Meredith had just removed a tumor from a patient's spinal cord, of course, with Derek supervising. It was the first thing they'd done, the first patient she'd seen. It was almost, almost too early in the morning to be on a surgery high. But, she was still feeling nervous and frustrated, and it was apparent. Open for everyone to see.

"Post-ops...could you monitor him? And, be in OR 2 at 3:00 for an Arachnoid Granulation," Derek said, exiting the scrub room.

"Alright," Meredith said, following behind. They stopped and gazed at each other quickly, their eyes meeting for a brief second as they smiled at each other before heading off in separate directions. Meredith went to the nurses station and go the patient's chart, making a few quick notes in it before grabbing the few other post-ops and heading toward the rooms to monitor them for the next however many hours. She had to make several notes and run a few labs that the nurses had made note needed to be done, but it wasn't that grueling to be in post-op. It seemed to fly by, which was strange, because post-op never seemed to fly by. It was probably because she didn't want the day to fly by. She was dreading the dinner with Derek's friends. She was Meredith. An avoider. She avoided because she said the wrong things and she was going to say the wrong thing, she knew it. But she couldn't avoid. And so the one day she wanted to go by slowly, went by quickly. And it didn't seem like long before 3:00 came and it was time to go back to the OR. The simple procedure didn't take more than a couple of hours. She stayed with the patient until he woke up and took a few vitals before deciding to spend the rest of her shift in the pit doing sutures and other meaningless things. She did this once in a while just to freshen up skills. Something her old resident had always wanted from the interns. That was one plus to leaving New York, never having to see 'Heal with Love Cindy' again. She was in the middle of suturing some woman's hand after having cut herself while chopping lettuce, when the doors to the pit burst open and a few paramedics rushed in with a bloody man on the gurney. Meredith looked at them as they rushed by, the man's head was literally crushed in, his eyes seemingly out of they sockets. She pulled off her gloves quickly, assuring her patient shew would be right back as she sprang up and tushed to the room he had just been escorted to.

"Page Dr. Shepherd," she ordered as she walked in, hearing the nurse rattle of stats.

"How did this happen?" she asked the paramedic as the nurse continued to read.

"Construction worker, it iced pretty bad last night, he slipped and fell five stories," the paramedic explained. Meredith nodded, looking at the extensive damage. Derek rushed in moments later and they started conversing, deciding to go into emergency surgery.

After having to literally put the brains back inside the patient's head and reconstruct his skull, Meredith and Derek scrubbed out of the very long and difficult surgery. Meredith glanced at the clock in the scrub room. Her shift had been over for two hours, and they were supposed to meet Derek's friends in an hour.

"Should we cancel the dinner plans?" she asked, looking over at him. He looked up at her and smiled, laughing slightly.

"You really want to get out of this, don't you?" he asked. He'd noticed how strange she'd been acting. Her eyes showed obvious worry, he body showed how tense she was. He'd noticed.

"No, it's just, the patient..." Meredith started.

"Meredith, the patient has almost every active neurologist at Seattle Grace monitoring him throughout the night, he'll be fine. The dinner will be fine," Derek assured her, hoping to relax her slightly.

"Derek, I'm...I...never mind," Meredith said, heaving a sigh as she quickly dried her hands and left the scrub room. Derek looked after her curiously, turning off the water and drying his hands as he started out of the tiny room as well. He changed quickly and made his way to the locker room that she changed in, opening the door and leaning on a set of lockers. She was sitting on a bench, scrub pants and a bra on, her hair out of it's pony tail and hanging around her face. She looked deep in thought, gazing at the lockers intensely. He smiled slightly, resisting the sudden urge he had, the sudden desire to rip off the remained of her clothes and have sex with her in the locker room.

"You okay?" he asked. Meredith jumped a little at the sound of a sudden voice, looking at him quickly.

"Yeah...yeah, I;m fine. I'm good," she said quickly, standing and pulling on her top. She untied her scrub pants and let them fall to the ground, grabbing her jeans out of the locker.

"Mer, what's bothering you? Is it the dinner thing, because we don't..." Derek started.

"It's not the dinner thing. It's the mother thing, and the ex-fiance thing, and the new friends thing, so it kind of is the dinner thing, but not really the dinner thing, because it's a combination of things, and it all just builds up into this one big thing that makes me want to blow my brains out because I'm so fed up," Meredith said, taking a deep breath at the end of her rant. A small grin crept it's way onto Derek's face. She was cute when she rambled. He loved her rambling.

"We can cancel, though. Take a little off your load," he suggested with a shrug, cocking his head to the side a little.

"No, no, that's fine," Meredith said, flashing his a quick smile before turning and grabbing her shoes out of her locker, putting her tennis shoes in and slamming it. Surprisingly, she felt a little better. Like before she hadn't been acting like it all really bothered her. Like she'd been acting as if her mother's presence was only slightly annoying when really, it worried the hell out of her. And not to mention Chad's being there. Of course, he was easily ditchable. She'd done it earlier in the day, it wouldn't be hard to do again. He wasn't like her mother, the sticky thing that was unblowawayable. And getting through the dinner would help a lot too. She knew that. So, taking one last deep breath, she decided to get it over with. She walked up to Derek and extended her hand.

"Ready?" she asked. He smiled back, grabbing her hand and escorting her out of the locker room.

Savvy had a plan. It was concocted in her head. There was no way Derek could love this girl. He was in love with Addison. So, before even meeting this new, twenty-something year old that Derek was screwing, she hated her. So, she had a plan that was concocted in her head. She sat, sipping her martini and watching the door intensely, not noticing her husband's attempts at getting her attention. She just had to drive this girl away. And she had a plan. So, in waiting desperately to put the plan into affect, she could care less about Weiss. Finally giving up on getting her attention, Weiss sighed and picked up his scotch, taking a long sip. He knew his wife. He could sense the wheels turning in her head. She had a plan. And it probably wasn't exactly a good one, judged by the look on her face. The door to Joe's bar swung open, granting a ring of the bell above it in order to make the new movement known. He stood as he saw Derek enter, his hand on a beautiful girl's back as he escorted her in. Weiss smiled and waved at Derek as he entered, his wife not giving the same courtesy. Had it been Addison, he knew Savvy would have jumped up, ran over and hugged them both, already making small talk with Addie about how good the new Mary-Kay product she had was. He rolled his eyes slightly at his wife's attitude, noticing the already worried look on the girl's face.

"Shep," he greeted Derek with a smile and hug, sliding out of the booth.

"Hey," Derek grinned back, gesturing toward the girl as soon as their brief hug was finished. "Weiss and Savvy, this is Meredith, and vice versa. Savvy's the pretty one, by the way."

"Are you suggesting I'm not pretty?" Weiss asked with a smile.

"Mark could help you," Derek joked with a shrug.

"You could have some work done yourself," Weiss grinned back, pulling Meredith into a hug. "Nice to meet you, Meredith."

"Yes. Yeah, really great to meet you, Meredith," his wife finally stood, agreeing insincerely with her husband, saying Meredith's name with a hint of venom in her voice.

It didn't take long for Meredith to realize that either Savvy didn't like or, or she was a cold hearted, very stand off-ish bitch. Or maybe a little of both. Either way, between the glares, dirty looks, daggers, scowls, glowers, whatever word you want to use, she was receiving from her all night, Savvy had a problem. She wasn't active in the conversation, and didn't bother to even pick at let alone eat the food in front of her. Instead, she just stared gruffly, finally pushing the basket of carbs away as everyone else finished.

"I have to head to the powder room, Mer- it's okay if I call you that- care to join me? A little girl talk could do us good," she said, her false smile screwed on so tightly it looked vacuum sealed. Meredith looked at her reluctantly.

"Sure," she finally said hesitantly, after studying her for a few brief seconds. She stood and started back toward the ladies room. She had never been one to go to the bathroom in groups. She went into the bathroom to actually go to the bathroom, that's what it was for. She wasn't your typical, stand in front of the mirror and gossip girl. And she figured if anyone wanted to be with her for the for the sole purpose of joining her for the pleasant experience of vomiting alcohol or emptying her bladder, that person was someone who was in need of serious help, and maybe some medication. And she especially never went to the bathroom with someone who called them 'powder rooms'. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered her as much as it did when Savvy said it. But for some reason, it seemed to further her 'snooty bitch' appeal.

"So, Mer, how did you meet Derek?" Savvy asked as the door to the bathroom finally closed behind them and she started to empty her purse, full of make up.

"Um...work," Meredith said, eying the contents that had taken residence on the counter and wondering how anyone's face could have so much make up without sagging. Her skin seemed to carry more paint than Home Depot.

"He's your boss, then, right?" Savvy asked, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"Kinda," Meredith said, noticing the look on Savvy's face and adding a sense of defensiveness to her voice. "What are you getting at?"

"No need to get upset, Mer. I understand it. You have that whole wide eyes, ooh, he's a neurosurgeon thing going on. You're the gold digging whore type, it's okay..." Savvy shrugged.

"Excuse me?" Meredith looked at her disbelievingly. Was this woman actually saying this kind of thing?

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to insult you..." Savvy started turning to face Meredith.

"Really, because that's what it sounds like," Meredith interrupted.

"I'm just saying, you're not what Derek's looking for. Trust me. I've seen his girlfriends, and I've seen his booty calls. And you're the latter," she shrugged. "I just think maybe you should quit while you're ahead. I think you're setting yourself up for a heart break."

"You think so, huh? You know what I think? I think you're a hypocrite. I think you have no right to pass judgment on me when you barely no me. I think you're no better than me, if anything, you're worse. And I think you have a stick shoved so far up your ass that it couldn't be removed with a scalpel. I also think that you have no right to demean my relationship with Derek. While it may not be that serious, you still don't get to come in and kick mud all over what we have. It's none of your business. So, I think, that you should keep your nose out of it because it's not your life, and you're not God. I make my decisions," Meredith said, stepping slightly closer to Savvy and raising her voice slightly. Normally, she would have handled it in a more mature way, but this woman was too much like her mother for that. She was too much of a bitch. Savvy looked stunned, she had obviously not expected Meredith to stand up for herself. Rolling her eyes, Meredith turned and pulled the door open quickly, walking out of the bathroom.

"I have to go," she said quickly, passing the table and grabbing her coat, storming out of Joe's into the freezing cold and light snowfall.

Was she a booty-call? He seemed to change his mind about her quickly enough. He hated her. She slept with him. He liked her. He thought she was engaged, he hated her. She yelled at him and made out with him in an exam room, he liked her. What was it? It had been on her mind since she had climbed into her car and quickly driven off, making sure to get out fast enough before he could come after her and convince her to go back inside, or decide to leave with her and end up becoming her knight in shining whatever. She hated knight's in shining whatever, she didn't need one. She also hated being used for sex. She doubted their relationship was just that. She was 99 sure it was more than that. But Savvy knew him well. Was she being honest about her feelings toward their relationship, or was she stirring the coals to cause fire? Was she right? Meredith sighed as she pulled into the drive way and turned the car off, the engine's purr coming to a complete stop and the light previously reflected from the headlights gone. She sat in the car until the cold air took over the car that had become warm from the heater. Finally, she opened the door, slipping her keys into her bag and starting up to the front door.

"I waited," she heard from the swing. She looked over quickly, slightly startled. "I waited all day for you. I looked everywhere for you at the hospital. I came here and waited all night for you to come home. And I still never got to give you your flowers." Chad smiled at her as he rose from the porch swing and walked over to her. She looked up into the eyes that had once been familiar to her, not believing she ever could have loved him, not believing she ever could have looked into those eyes and felt anything but disgust.

"That seems a bit stalkerish, don't you think?" she asked.

"Mer, give me a chance. I flew all the way across the country for you..." Chad started.

"You flew all the way across the country because my mother told you to..." Meredith began to interrupt.

"I've changed," Chad argued.

"I find that hard to believe," Meredith challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"I still love you," Chad said softly, walking a step closer and quickly leaning in, planting a soft kiss on her lips and pulling away quickly before giving her time to either give in or slap him. He didn't want to know which reaction it would be. "And I want another chance. So, please, take the flowers." He held the flowers out, receiving absolutely nothing in return from Meredith. She still seemed slightly stunned at his audacity to make such a rash move after everything that had happened. "I'll see you around," he smiled, placing the flowers in one of her hands loosely and walking out to his car, rubbing his leather gloved hands together for warmth through the bitter air. Meredith turned, watching as his car pulled away, her hand holding the flowers limply. What had just happened?


End file.
